Predictive Factors For Nutritional Behavior Among Pregnant Women Attending Ante Natal Care Clinic In 6th Of October City

Predictive Factors For Nutritional Behavior Among Pregnant Women Attending Ante Natal Care Clinic In 6^th Of October City

D A Nasrallah, H S Ez-elarab, M F Allam, E A Sultan

QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, Volume 113, Issue Supplement_1, March 2020, hcaa048, https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcaa048

Published: 05 May 2020

Background. Good maternal nutrition during pregnancy is important to ensure health for the mother and the fetus. This study aimed to establish optimal health of Egyptian mothers and their babies through proper nutrition, by assessing nutritional knowledge and behavior among a group of Egyptian pregnant women in addition to identifying the factors influencing their nutritional knowledge and behavior.

Methods. This descriptive cross sectional study included 300 pregnant women attending the antenatal care clinics in 6^th of October University private hospital and EL-Hussary primary health care unit. The data was collected through a modified nutritional survey that was translated from Spanish to Arabic and revised by language experts for clarity.

Results. Almost all of the women attending the private hospital were university educated while about half of the women attending the PHC unit were graduated from technical education (skills diploma). In general, the level of knowledge about food requirements of both groups was satisfactory good; however, neither of them fulfilled the WHO recommendations of food intake during pregnancy or the optimum number of meals per day. The mean of random blood glucose was higher among the women attending the PHC unit; the BMI, mid arm circumference and subcutaneous fat were higher among the same group as well. In regard to fulfilling the WHO recommended servings per day, only starch and fat items were fulfilled by both groups, whereas the other three items (vegetables, fruits and dairy products) were merely included in the diets of both groups.

Conclusion. Women with higher education showed an active lifestyle with a lower BMI but showed no relation to the choice of a good and healthy diet. These findings could give an insight to the policy makers in order to update nutritional care programs for pregnant women addressing all aspects of sociodemographic differences among women.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Nutrition, Life-style behaviour, Eating habits, Antenatal care.

Issue Section: Family Medicine

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