Abstract
Background: Sufficient maternal nutrition is paramount to ensure maternal and fetal wellbeing. It further determines the health of the offspring throughout the lifecycle and prevents adverse health outcomes of the upcoming generation. Therefore, dietary practice and nutritional status of pregnant women and contributing factors among pregnant women visiting antenatal care services at Mettu Karl Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia, were assessed. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2018. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 378 study participants. Data were collected via face to face interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. Women Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) was measured using a qualitative 24- hr dietary recall and nutritional status was assessed by Mid-upper arm circumference measurements. Analyses were done using the statistical package of social science (SPSS version 20). Results: The prevalence of sub-optimal dietary practices was 22% and under-nutrition was 17.5%. Family size >5 [AOR=8.2, 95%CI: 12.383, 46.217] and severe food insecurity [AOR=3.661, 95%CI, 1.289, 10.394] were significantly associated with sub-optimal dietary practices. Being non married woman[AOR= 3.188, 95% CI: 1.219, 8.336], lack of formal education[AOR=9.405, 95%CI: 1.079, 81.943], lack of iron supplementation [AOR=3.189, 95%CI: 1.513, 6.720], WDDS <6 [AOR= 4.057, 95% CI: 2.157, 7.634], not taking additional meal (3+) [AOR=2.267, 95%CI: 1.211, 4.244], skipping meals [AOR=3.856, 95%CI: 1.099, 13.530) were significantly associated with under-nutrition. Conclusion and Recommendations: The present study revealed that there is a burden of suboptimal dietary practice and undernutrition among the studied participants. Predictors identified for suboptimal dietary practice were the family size and household food insecurity. Similarly, undernutrition was predicted by marital status, educational status, iron supplementation, additional meal intake, and meal skipping. Strategies should be designed at different levels by concerned bodies considering dietary practice and nutritional intake of pregnant women, with possible identified factors.
Highlights
Nutrition, throughout the life of human beings, has a major effect on health
The present study revealed that there is a burden of suboptimal dietary practice and undernutrition among the studied participants
Predictors identified for suboptimal dietary practice were the family size and household food insecurity
Summary
Throughout the life of human beings, has a major effect on health This is special for pregnant women as good maternal nutrition is one of the crucial options to safeguard maternal and fetal welfare in both developed and developing countries. The Open Public Health Journal, 2020, Volume 13 539 like iron and calcium, which is considered as a building block of the maternal body, starting from the consumption of diets containing these important micronutrients Based on this scenario, keeping good dietary practice before conception is substantial for safeguarding satisfactory nutritional status during pregnancy. Underweight women and those who have shortages in some micronutrients depend on “catch-up” by improving their diet once they are pregnant and additional nutrition is demanded because of the growing baby [2]. Dietary practice and nutritional status of pregnant women and contributing factors among pregnant women visiting antenatal care services at Mettu Karl Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia, were assessed
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