Nutritional Knowledge And Practice Among Expectant Mothers
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Nutritional Knowledge And Practice Among Expectant Mothers
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Nutritional knowledge has been shown to have a critical role in implementing optimal nutrition habits for the health of every pregnant mother. In reality, a nation’s health and nutritional quality are crucial indicators of its progress. A nutrition survey conducted in India discovered that pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as newborns, do not get adequate nourishment.
This is most likely due to a lack of fundamental understanding about healthy nutrition and incorrect customs in the community, as well as a lack of food availability and consumption.
In Nigeria, various detrimental socio-cultural and economic variables have had a negative impact on women’s access to quality antenatal care, which is required to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.
The most important of these are women’s low socioeconomic status, which denies them access to appreciable decision-making with regard to their reproductive functions; a high level of female illiteracy
which is a leading cause of poor health seeking behaviour for maternity services among Nigerian women; and a high rate of poverty, which predominantly affects women, leading to inadequate dietary intakes, a high rate of pregnancy complications, and women’s reduced access to evidence. Maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy is a significant predictor of birth weight.
The high rate of low birth weight (LBW) in impoverished nations has been ascribed to inadequate maternal nutrition (Ogunjuyigbe et al., 2008). Pregnancy is a time of significant physiological change, necessitating optimal nutritional lifestyle choices.
The growing baby requires a lot of energy and nutrients from the mother to improve physical and psychological development (Ojo and Briggs, 2010). In underdeveloped nations such as Nigeria, it is critical to clarify that low birth weight is mostly caused by the mother’s poor health and nutrition, with inadequate nutrition during pregnancy accounting for a major share of growth retardation (Hareyan 2005).
Malnutrition has been identified as one of the underlying causes of maternal mortality during the reproductive process. Malnutrition is caused by a variety of factors, including poverty, food insecurity, and maternal illiteracy in underdeveloped nations.
Because of the biological ties that exist between mother and child during pregnancy and nursing, the mother’s health and nutritional condition can have an impact on the kid’s health and survival (Ogunjuyigbe et al., 2008).
There is a significant element in nutrition that contributes to high newborn mortality rates, maternal death rates, and low infant birth weight. In contrast, appropriate nutritional practice is critical in determining infants’ optimal health and growth. (Bamji MS, 2003).
There is much of epidemiological evidence that poor prenatal nutrition predisposes the child to problems later in life. Inadequate nutrition is the primary cause of malnutrition, which can be classified as undernutrition or overnutrition.
Undernutrition occurs when there is not only insufficient energy, but also a deficiency or imbalance of key food components and nutrients. In addition to sufficient energy, proper macronutrient and micronutrient levels are essential to ensure optimum growth. The proportions and amounts of these nutrients may vary depending on the stage of growth.
In recent decades, human lifestyles have changed dramatically over the world. The lifestyle has evolved dramatically in recent years. These modifications occurred in diet, food varieties, cooking time, and so on. Nowadays, processed foods are quickly displacing organic ones.
Another shift is the rapid expansion in the number of eateries and people’s preference for eating fast food. Proper nutrition is one of the most important components of life (Amamoto and Andoyama, 2004).
Epidemiological evidence indicates that the occurrence of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and cancer has grown, which can be ascribed to changes in lifestyle and nutritional habits.
Nutritional education is one of the major factors that play a big part in nutritional knowledge by boosting awareness and, eventually, the health of the society (Stampfer et al., 2000).
To be healthy and physically active, as well as to have a healthier lifestyle, solid nutritional information must be obtained and implemented. Expectant moms’ knowledge, attitude, and practice must be considered in order to promote societal health.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women have long been recognised as one of the most nutritionally susceptible sectors of the population; the negative effects of maternal malnutrition affect both the mother and her offspring.
To effect change in the level of nutritional knowledge and behaviours prevalent among individuals, an endeavour was made here to raise nutritional awareness among women visiting private and government hospitals.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The most important factor contributing to the high infant mortality rate is malnutrition, maternal death, and low infant birth weight. Nutrition is a multi-sectoral issue that must be addressed at several levels.
Nutrition influences development in the same way that development affects nutrition. It is therefore critical to address the issue of nutrition through direct nutrition intervention for vulnerable groups such as expectant women.
Adequate awareness of many elements of feeding practices during pregnancy and infancy is vital, particularly among females, since they will influence the feeding patterns of this vulnerable population. This resulted in a study on dietary knowledge and practice among expecting women.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The major purpose of this study is to assess nutritional awareness among pregnant moms, although the researcher intends to achieve the following sub-objectives:
i) Outline frequent pregnancy outcomes associated with inadequate mother nutrition.
ii) Determine the link between dietary intake, physical activity, and maternal nutritional status.
iii) To identify the factors related with decline in maternal nutritional status.
iv) To investigate the function of contraceptives in maternal nutrition, as well as the prevention and treatment of micronutrient deficiencies.
1.4 Research Hypothesis
The researcher formulated the research hypotheses using null and alternative statements.
Ho: Expectant moms’ age at pregnancy shows no significant influence on their degree of dietary understanding.
H1: The age of expectant mothers during pregnancy has a significant influence on the level of nutritional knowledge.
Ho: There is no substantial link between dietary intake, physical activity, and expecting mothers’ nutritional state.
H2: There is a substantial link between dietary intake, physical activity, and expecting women’ nutritional status.
1.5 Significance of the Study
It’s astounding to think that many expectant mothers in this day and age still don’t understand or know much about nutrition during pregnancy. The findings of this study are expected to be of great use to all pregnant moms and women since they will act as a means of reducing the consequences of malnutrition on their reproductive health.
The findings will benefit the Ministry of Health greatly because they will act as a resource for future sensitisation efforts in cities and communities. The findings will be useful to people planning similar research projects because they add to the current literature.
Finally, the research will serve as a catalyst for new thinking and future research in nutritional knowledge and practice among pregnant moms, as well as health science students, lecturers, and the general public.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study focusses on expectant moms’ nutritional knowledge and practice. During the course of the study, the researcher encountered some restrictions that constrained the scope of the study.
Time constraint: The researcher will conduct this investigation alongside other academic activities. This will reduce the amount of time spent on research.
Inadequate Materials: Scarcity of materials is another impediment. The researcher finds it difficult to get his hands on certain necessary materials, which could greatly contribute to the success of this study project.
Financial constraints: Insufficient funds tend to restrict the researcher’s efficiency in accessing relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in data collecting (internet, questionnaire, and interview).
1.7 Definition of Terms
Knowledge is the familiarity, knowledge, or understanding of someone or something, such as facts, information, descriptions, or skills, that is gained via experience or study.
Nutrition
Nutrition is the science of understanding how nutrients and other elements in food interact to maintain, grow, reproduce, and treat an organism’s health and disease. It include food intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism, and excretion.
Health refers to a live organism’s functional and metabolic efficiency. Humans have the ability to adapt and self-manage when confronted with physical, mental, or social changes.
In its 1948 constitution, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health more broadly as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
This definition has been subject to dispute, in particular for its lack of operational usefulness, the uncertainty in building integrated health policies, and the dilemma presented by the usage of the word “complete.”
Expectant mothers: Pregnancy, also known as gestation, is the time when one or more babies develop inside a woman.
1.8 Study organisational structure
This research study is organised into five chapters for simple understanding, as follows: The first chapter is concerned with the introduction, which includes the (overview of the study), statement of problem, aims of the investigation, research question, significance of the study, research methods, term definitions, and historical backdrop of the study.
The second chapter is on the theoretical framework that underpins the study, as well as a review of relevant literature. Chapter three discusses the research design and technique used in the study.
Chapter four focusses on data gathering, analysis, and presenting of findings. The fifth chapter includes the study’s summary, conclusion, and recommendations.
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