Abstract
Proper food and good nutrition are essential for survival, physical growth, mental development, performance and productivity, health and well-being. Pregnancy is a critical phase in a woman's life, when the expectant mother needs optimal nutrients of superior food qualities to support the developing fetus. The objective of this study was to assess the dietary practice and associated factors among pregnant women in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. Community based cross sectional study was undertaken from March to April 2014 in Gondar town. The data were collected by using interviewer aided questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS windows version (16.0). Multiple logistic regression was run to assess factors associated with the dependent variable at <i>P</i><0.05 and to control the confounders. This study showed that good dietary practice was found to be 40.1% (95% CI: 36.1-44.3%) during pregnancy. Mothers education, monthly income, nutrition information and dietary knowledge had a positive significant with pregnant mothers’ dietary practices (<i>P</i><0.001). As dietary practices of pregnant mothers were relatively low in this study, the government in collaboration and a strong integration with concerned bodies should be focused on providing nutritional education to increase the practices of pregnant mothers on maternal nutrition during pregnancy.
Highlights
Malnutrition is one of the most serious health problem affecting children and their mothers in Ethiopia
According to the Bureau of Finance and Economic Development report (BoFED) of 2012 the estimated population reside in Gondar town was 258,178, of whom 60,209(23.32%) were women of reproductive age group and 1850 (0.49%) were pregnant mothers
This low dietary practice of pregnant mothers may be due to their low income, relatively high family size, lack of nutritional information and low educational status of the study participants as compared to other previous studies
Summary
Malnutrition is one of the most serious health problem affecting children and their mothers in Ethiopia. Undernourished children have lower resistance to infection and are more likely to die from common childhood illnesses, such as diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. Those who survive may be locked into a vicious cycle of recurring sickness and faltering growth, often with irreversible damage to their cognitive and social development. Nutrition throughout life has a major effect on health. This is true for pregnant women as adequate maternal nutrition is one of the best ways to ensure maternal and fetal wellbeing in developed and developing countries. Providing a nourishing diet for pregnant and lactating women results in significantly better infant health outcomes. During pregnancy and breast-feeding, the recommended intakes for most nutrients increase [2]
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