Impact of Nutrition Counselling on Food and Nutrient Intake and Haematological Profile of Rural Pregnant Women

Abstract

The unfortunate state of nutrition in countries like India is attributed to several factors. Poverty and low purchasing power are no doubt major factors contributing to malnutrition lack of awareness and paucity of information also aggravate the problem. There are three population groups who suffer from the ill effects of malnutrition. These vulnerable segments are preschool children expectant and nursing mothers. An expectant and nursing mother needs to be provided adequate nutritional intake for maternal and foetal tissue growth and her own usual maintenance requirements. An acute or chronic deprivation of dietary intake may result in poor pregnancy outcome. In India almost one third of babies born are low birth weight mainly attributable to poor maternal health and nutrition during pregnancy. Nutrition counselling is one of the prerequisites for improving the nutritional status of any group. The prenatal patient represents an ideal opportunity for nutrition counselling since at that time more than any other time she may be highly motivated to understand and accept advice. Hence the present study was conducted to see the impact of nutrition counselling on food and nutrient intake and haematological profile of pregnant women. (excerpt)