Abstract
BackgroundPregnancy is the most crucial nutritionally demanding period of every woman’s life. The high demand of nutrients to deposit energy in the form of new tissue, growth of existing maternal tissues such as breast and uterus and increased energy requirements for tissue synthesis makes pregnant women more vulnerable to malnutrition. Dietary practice is defined as an observable actions or behavior of dietary habit and can be classified as good dietary practices and poor dietary practices. The incidence of dietary inadequacies as a result of dietary habits and patterns in pregnancy is higher during pregnancy when compared to any other stage of the life cycle. Thus, this study aimed to assess dietary practices and associated factors during pregnancy in Bahir Dar town, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross sectional study was conducted from March 1 to April 1, 2016. A total of 616 pregnant women were participated in the study. All eligible pregnant women were identified through house-to-house visit with the help of health extension workers. Cluster sampling was used to select eligible pregnant women. The data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaire prepared in English and translated in to Amharic. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with dietary practices.ResultThis study has shown that 39.3% of the study participants had good dietary practices and the rest 60.7% of pregnant women reported poor dietary practices. Concerning dietary knowledge, 61.4% of the study participants had good dietary knowledge while 38.6% had poor dietary knowledge. Husband income, ownership of radio, history of disease and dietary knowledge were shown to have significant association (P < 0.05) with dietary practices.ConclusionDietary practices of pregnant women in the study area was suboptimal. Husband income, ownership of radio, history of disease and dietary knowledge were independent predictors of women dietary practices. Awareness should be created among pregnant women by concerned bodies such as governmental and non-governmental organization through local mass media.
Highlights
Pregnancy is the most crucial nutritionally demanding period of every woman’s life
Socio demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the study participants A total of 616 pregnant women participated in this study making the response rate 100%
About 36.4% of study participants were between age ranges of 25–29
Summary
Pregnancy is the most crucial nutritionally demanding period of every woman’s life. Pregnant women must get all essential nutrients and gain sufficient weight, the two main modifiable risk factors influencing maternal and infant outcomes [10]. Appropriate nutrition and weight gain benefits pregnant women to meet the demands of her offspring, her own body needs, and to prepare her body for lactation [11]. Low weight gain during pregnancy is risk factors for the delivery of infants too small for gestational age leading to neonatal mortality and morbidity [12], failure to grow, slow cognitive development and chronic diseases in adulthood [13]
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