KNOWLEDGE OF MATERNAL NUTRITION AND FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERN AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINICS IN IBADAN, OYO STATE

Abstract

Good nutrition is fundamental for any pregnancy. Its importance exceeds beyond helping an expectant mother remain healthy, but also impacts the development of the foetus and ensures that the baby thrives in infancy and beyond. Maternal malnutrition is ranked as one of the major causes of maternal mortality. Knowledge of maternal nutrition is, therefore, an essential component to guarantee positive pregnancy result. The dimension of information about the nourishing needs during pregnancy will influence the food choice and consumption pattern. This study is therefore designed to investigate the knowledge on maternal nutrition and consumption pattern of women attending secondary antenatal clinics in Ibadan, Oyo State. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study using validated semi-structured selfadministered questionnaire. Three hundred pregnant women consented to participate in the study through a multi-stage sampling technique. A 10-point knowledge scale was used to assess the knowledge of maternal nutrition into three categories: ≥8 was classified as a good knowledge, a score of ≥5<8 was considered as fair knowledge while <5 was classified as having poor knowledge. Data collected were analysed using counts, mean, standard deviation, percentages, and Chi-square at p<0.05 level significance. Age of respondents was 29.5 ±4.9 years. The results indicated that about 70% of the respondents were ages 25-34 years. The majority (71.0%) had tertiary education, while 26.7% had secondary education, 35.7% earned income through petty trading, while 27.0% were civil servants. Respondents, (87.0%) had good knowledge, 11.3% had fair knowledge, while 1.7% had poor knowledge on maternal nutrition. Information on maternal nutrition was mostly obtained from the nurses in antenatal clinics. On food intake, 52.0% got their energy source from rice 2-3 times a week, followed by semolina (51.0%) and bread (48.3%). For protein intake, 53.3% consumed moinmoin 2-3 times a week, followed by bean cake (45.3%). Orange (55.3%), Apple (39.3%), Water Melon (38.0%), Banana (37.3%) and Green Leafy vegetable (39.3%) accounted for the mostly consumed fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Food of animal origin, fish (79.7%), meat (63.0%) and eggs (63.3%) were consumed daily, while snail and turkey were consumed occasionally by 37.0% and 37.3%, respectively. Most (90.0%) of the respondents ate pastries, 85.0% ate nuts, and 70.7% ate savory. Few (23.0%) of the respondents consumed pastries twice, while 40.0% of the respondents ate more than three times a day. There wereno significant relationships between the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, knowledge of maternal nutrition, and the number of times respondents eat per day. Good knowledge was documented among the study population as well as daily and weekly consumption of protein, vegetables, and fruits. Pregnant women should be exposed to continuous information on healthy eating and guided in making appropriate food choices to consolidate their knowledge.