Influence of Nutrition Knowledge on Dietary Practices and Attitudes of Pregnant Women in Migori, Kenya
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Date
2020
Authors
Odiwuor, Florence. O.
Kimiywe, Judith
Waudo, Judith
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Global Research Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology
Abstract
Nutrient related deficiency diseases and micronutrient deficiencies which can result to intrauterine
growth retardation are manifested. Approximately 200 million women become pregnant each year in
developing countries and many of these women suffer from ongoing nutritional deficiencies. In
Kenya, malnutrition primarily affects pregnant and lactating women and children under five years of
age, and significantly contributes to their morbidity and mortality. Kenya’s high rates of under
nutrition among WRA are particularly due to insufficient awareness and knowledge on nutritionally
adequate diets among other causes. Nutrition education during pregnancy can improve dietary
intake. This study sought to determine nutrition knowledge and practices on dietary intake and their
associations before and after a psycho-educational nutrition initiative among pregnant women in
Migori County. A prospective cohort study design was used and simple random sampling was used
to obtain a sample of 150 pregnant women from three sub-county hospitals purposively selected for
study. Pregnant women of GA ≤26 weeks were recruited and enrolled into psycho-educational
nutrition intervention study. Data was collected by a nutrition knowledge and practices
questionnaire. Data was collected at baseline and after intervention for each woman and analyzed
by SPSS. Data was summarized by descriptive and relationships between variables was tested by
Chi square. Findings showed that the pregnant women Nutrition education had positive significant
associations with nutrition knowledge and practices. The study found significant effects of
nutrition knowledge from the psycho-educational initiative on dietary intake. The study concludes
that nutrition education can be used to improve behaviours and dietary practices of pregnant
women. The finding is important to central and county governments, civil society, intergovernmental
agencies, research groups, business enterprises and community under study.
Description
article
Keywords
Nutrition Knowledge, Dietary Practices and Attitudes, Pregnant Women
Citation
.Odiwuor, F., Kimiywe, J., & Waudo, J. (2020). Influence of Nutrition Knowledge on Dietary Practices and Attitudes of Pregnant Women in Migori, Kenya.