An exploration of maternal dietary diversity and household food security in undernourished pregnant women living in Northern Bangladesh

Abstract

Purpose: Inadequate dietary intake during pregnancy is a major problem in many low-income countries. This study aimed to investigate dietary diversity of pregnant women in fi rst, second or third trimester of pregnancy, and associations with household food security in a rural district of northern Bangladesh. Design: In September 2012, skilled community nutrition volunteers (n 5 8) interviewed undernourished pregnant women (n 5 10) using a questionnaire which consisted of three components 1. demographics 2. household food security and 3. dietary diversity. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was adapted to explore household food access and the individual dietary diversity questionnaire to explore women’s dietary diversity. Data were analysed using HFIAS and dietary diversity validated methodology. Findings: This study found that half of households were identifi ed as food insecure, and two thirds of women had inadequate dietary diversity, which may contribute to the burden of undernutrition and micronutrient defi ciencies. There appeared to be no relationship among women with low dietary diversity scores and household food security. Study fi ndings indicate that additional research is required to identify the relationship between maternal nutrition status, dietary diversity scores and household food security.