The impact of maternal nutrition during preconception, pregnancy and lactation on the ovarian reserve of offspring: a narrative review

Diminished/decreased ovarian reserve (DOR), which refers to a decline in oocyte number or quality, has a profound impact on women's quality of life and fertility. In recent years, the incidence of DOR has been increasing, and more cases of this complication have been reported at younger ages. Therefore, finding the reasons for its occurrence is of great importance. Despite the great inter-individual differences in women's ovarian reserves, environmental and epigenetic effects cannot be ignored in this regard. Since women's ovarian reserves are developed in the prenatal period, the present evidence-based review study has addressed the effects of maternal nutrition, specifically undernutrition and overnutrition, during pre-conception, pregnancy, and lactation on the ovarian reserve of offspring.