When entering her first pregnancy, Jasna Twynstra was determined to make the best nutrition choices for her own health, and her baby's. Although, when she dove into the latest research on the topic, she found herself with more questions than answers.
"I noticed there wasn't a lot of research in Canada on how health-care providers are trained, or how much they know about giving nutrition advice to pregnant people."
Twynstra, now a professor and graduate chair in the Brescia School of Food and Nutritional Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and associate scientist with the Children's Health Research Institute, began her career as a postdoc exploring how blood delivers nutrients throughout the body. But when she began to face growing questions about her own pregnancy, she decided to take a new path within her research.
"Because I was so driven to make the best decisions for myself and my baby, I jumped two feet into the field and started to figure out: what is the best way to educate pregnant people on what they should be eating so they can make their own, informed choices?"
Nutrition is incredibly important during pregnancy for the short-term and long-term health of the pregnant person and their baby. Inadequate nutrition increases the risk of numerous complications, including low or large birth weight baby, preterm birth, cardiovascular disease, obesity and more.
Twynstra is dedicated to improving the field of prenatal nutrition so that every pregnant person has the proper resources from the start, helping them feel confident in making dietary choices throughout pregnancy, and beyond.
