101 Virgin Olive Oil Benefits 7.2. Olive oil consumption in pregnancy and lactation During pregnancy, following a balanced diet with a good supply of nutrients within healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean one, is crucial to guarantee good mother-child health. Therefore, pregnant women are recommended to follow healthy dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, as well as some specific recommendations to ensure a good supply of nutrients and avoid certain risks. As an example, a periconceptional supplementation with 400 g/day of Folate is recommended to women planning to get pregnant in order to prevent malformations such as neural tube defects. Low blue fish consumption is also advised to limit mercury intake due to its possibly harmful effects during later childhood development. The health impact of diet during pregnancy has been assessed in numerous studies. In a recent systematic review of 40 studies carried out by Gete et al., (2020) the effects of maternal diets on preterm birth and low birth weight were analysed. During pregnancy dietary patterns characterised by a high consumption of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, pulses, and dairy products, and a low consumption of added sugars, saturated fats, and fast food were associated with a reduced risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. Among these studies, only in three was the role of olive oil consumption assessed, and only one of them found a lower risk of preterm birth associated with olive oil consumption. Some studies have evaluated the effects of olive oil consumption in pregnant women in Spain. In one of them including 1409 children, Castro-Rodriguez et al., (2010) demonstrated that olive oil consumption during pregnancy was associated with a lower number of hospital admissions due to wheezing in the offspring during the first year of life. Martinez-Galiano et al., (2018) reported a lower birth weight among mothers with lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet and less olive oil consumption during pregnancy. In an intervention study performed by Assaf-Balut et al., (2017) with 874 pregnant women, a reduced incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus and fewer adverse events were found in the intervention group (n=434) who daily consumed a Mediterranean diet supplemented with 40 millilitres of extra virgin olive oil and 25-30 grams of pistachios. In addition, during the first two years of life the children of these women in the intervention group had less risk of being hospitalised due to bronchiolitis/asthma and other illnesses. It has been suggested that consuming a Mediterranean diet, and specifically olive oil, during pregnancy could have a long-term healthy effect on children’s weight maintenance. There is, however, no consistent evidence. In the VIVA Study, a
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