Project Materials

NUTRITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES AMONG EXPECTANT MOTHERS

ABSTRACT

A pregnant mother and her developing baby interact in a variety of ways, from the food she eats to the baby’s kicks that she experiences. The developing baby’s diet has a significant impact on its health at delivery. To eat healthily, a pregnant mother must be familiar with the various components of food. However, if the knowledge is not applied, it loses its value. The primary goal of this research was to look into pregnant women’s nutritional knowledge and practices in Anambra State’s Onitsha North and South Local Government Areas. Because of the high number involved and the fact that the majority of the hospital lacked a maternity unit, only 250 expectant moms were used. The study was designed with eight precise objectives, matching research questions, and six hypotheses. Data was collected using a questionnaire with three sections. The respondents’ personal information was collected through fourteen questions on dietary knowledge and practice. The questionnaire responses on knowledge were on a two-point scale of Yes and No, whilst those on practices were on a three-point scale of “Practice Always”. “Do not practice” coupled with “Practice Rarely” . Correlation analysis, percentage, ANOVA, and multiple t-tests for paired comparisons were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that all of the study’s hypotheses had been rejected. The mean (x) percentage of individuals who said they knew what healthy nutrition was was higher than those who said they practiced it often. There was some link between the subjects’ nutritional knowledge and their nutritional practice. Education, age, and parity all influenced their nutritional understanding and practices. Based on these findings, some recommendations were made, including: – (a) Health educators and nutritionists should be asked to deliver health talks to pregnant women during prenatal clinics. (b) Age and educational level.

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 lower maternal morbidity and mortality rates.

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).