Nutritional status and its associated factors among pregnant women in Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan.

Thesis Report.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction: The nutritional health of pregnant women is a crucial factor that impacts the health outcomes of both the mother and child. A nutrient-rich diet during pregnancy is a must for their nutritional well-being. However, several individuals, family, and community level factors influencing the intake of a nutrient-rich diet are worse in Nepal, particularly in the Madhesh province. This study aimed to test the association of household food security, women empowerment, and other underlying factors with the nutrition status of pregnant women.

Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study carried out among 435 pregnant women of Janakpurdham, selected using multistage cluster sampling with probability proportionate to size method. The nutrition status was measured using MUAC tape. Pre-validated standard tools were deployed to measure diet quality, household food security, and women empowerment. The Nepalese Food Composition Table 2017 and the Indian Food Composition Table 2017 were referenced to compute the nutrient value in the recipe consumed. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. The data were processed and analyzed in IBM SPSS. Logistic regression was carried out to evaluate the association between variables.

Results: Around one-third (31.7%) of pregnant were undernourished based on MUAC. Pregnant women’s food insecurity in their households and gender-based food-eating preference orders in their families were significant predictors of their undernutrition. Only 12% of pregnant women were able to meet their recommended diet quality, with only 14.0%, 23.9%, and 13.8% meeting iron, calcium and folate intake of the daily recommended amount respectively.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that undernutrition is a significant concern among pregnant women. Both food consumption behaviour and household food security could be reasons behind poor diet quality. Hence, targeted nutrition-specific and sensitive intervention programs toward food security and a blanket approach to comprehensive nutrition education are recommended to improve diet quality.

Keywords: maternal nutrition, predictors, women empowerment, household food security, diet quality