K.D. said:

>Re: hierarchy of priorities in pregnant and lactating moms.  Arly Helm says
>that the mother has priority over the fetus in a pregnant mom, but I know of
>many studies showing that the fetus has priority.

I haven't seen these studies.  Everything I've read says that with few
exceptions, the mother has precedence.

> I haven't taken the time
>to look up those references, but I can if anyone is interested.  One was a
>study of birth weights and maternal weight loss during the "Dutch Hunger
>Winter" of WWII when the Nazis were blockading food supplies to Holland.
>The moms were practically starving to death, but the fetuses/babies were OK.

Actually, the babies were small, and this was the beginning of the fad to
starve pregnant women in order to make their babies small and hence easier
to deliver.  We are still fighting against that today!  Also, when a
pregnant woman is undernourished, there is substantial reason to believe
that the "grandmother effect" will cause her fetus to deliver fewer
nutrients to its own fetus when the time comes (20 years later!).

>And there are many studies of "maternal depletion syndrome" from Third World
>countries that show that repeated closely-spaced pregnancies/lactations in
>poorly-nourished moms result in steadily deteriorating nutritional status
>for her over the years, but not much of an impact on birth weight of child.

And intelligence of child, too?

I think you will find the preponderance of evidence supports the importance
of good nutrition during pregnancy, and birth spacing to improve maternal
and child health as well as full expression of genetic potential.

I've just moved house, and my books are all in storage, but I would suggest
starting with basic nutrition texts, (really your best source) then going
on to the National Academy of Sciences (Recommended Dietary Allowances;
Nutrition During Pregnancy; Nutrition During Lactation), and then perhaps
to Fomon or one of Shils' books.  Also, any literature review done in
support of the Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Feeding Program.

I would be very suspicious of claims that malnourishment produces children
who maximize their genetic potential for intelligence, height, head
circumference, width of pelvis, longevity, and so on.  The horror stories
we see in the textbooks are just the tip of the iceberg--acute nutritional
deficiencies of just one vitamin or mineral cause devastating effects, but
what of a constellation of effects resulting from general malnutrition?

Not something to be passive about.

Arly Helm, (MS, BA, Food Sciences & Nutrition)

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