The Dietary practices, and its Impact on pregnant women

The menace of maternal morbidity and mortality has remained a major maternal and child health problem in developing countries and prominent among the risk factors is inadequate dietary practice in pregnancy. The study assessed factors influencing dietary practices among pregnant women. The study adopted a descriptive research survey. The populations were 626 pregnant women. Sample size was determined using solving’s formula and simple random technique through was used to select 244 pregnant women. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to obtain data on factors influencing dietary practice among pregnant women. Data was processed using SPSS version 21. Three research questions were answered using descriptive statistics of percentage while three hypotheses were tested using chi square at 0.05 level of significance. Majority 75% of the pregnant women had moderate knowledge level concerning dietary practice during pregnancy, 58.2% agreed that cultural belief influence dietary practice while 50.8% agreed that religious belief influence dietary practice. There is no significant relationship between participant’s knowledge regarding dietary intake and dietary practice (p= 0.200). There is no significant relationship between participant’s level of education and dietary practice (p= 0.077). There is significant relationship between monthly income and dietary practice (p= 0.001). Pregnant women have moderate knowledge level about dietary practice and monthly income significantly influence dietary practice. Nurses should educate pregnant women about cost effective dietary practice. Available online at https://int-scientific-journals.co