Abstract
Improving the nutrition of pregnant women is essential in reducing maternal and child mortality, which is one of the global nutritional goals of 2025. This study evaluated the factors related to the quality of dietary intake among pregnant women in Muntinlupa, Philippines. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 280 pregnant women at a hospital in Muntinlupa from March 2019 to August 2019 using questionnaires. After the primary aggregation, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the quality of dietary intake in pregnant women. Approximately half of the women (46.4%, n = 130) had a low dietary diversity during pregnancy. Less than 30% of the respondents consumed beans, soybean products, and nuts. In the logistic regression analysis, poor maternal knowledge of nutritional sources to prevent anemia (odds ratio (OR) 4.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.47–12.32, p = 0.01) and less frequent meal consumption (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.08–4.29, p = 0.03) were significantly associated with poor dietary diversity. Our findings are crucial because they suggest that increasing the knowledge of pregnant women about good nutrition and ensuring that dietary intake is frequent and adequate through antenatal care can improve the nutrition of pregnant women.
Highlights
Considering average household monthly income, the number of participants (59.6%, n = 159) who earned less than 9999 Philippine pesos was higher than those who earned above 10,000 Philippine pesos
This study showed that the knowledge of nutritional sources to prevent anemia was significantly associated with a variety of dietary intakes
This study showed that the quality of dietary intake in half of the Filipino women was low during pregnancy
Summary
Micronutrient deficiency causes intrauterine fetal stunting, labor disorders, neonatal and childhood health abnormalities, and decreased quality of life of the mother during pregnancy and after childbirth [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. One of the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies, is the most common cause of indirect obstetric death, and women who develop this condition during pregnancy are at risk of excessive bleeding, sepsis, and death during childbirth [9,10,11,12,13]. The World Health Organization aims to reduce anemia and low birth weight by 50% and 30%, respectively, by 2025 [14]. Past studies have shown that dietary diversity is significantly associated with nutritional value in the
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