NUTRITIONAL AWARENESS OF THE PREGNANT WOMEN IN MUMBAI CITY

Introduction : The nutritional status of women when becoming pregnant and during pregnancy can have significant influence on foetal and maternal health outcomes. Micronutrient deficiencies can lead to pregnancy complications. Poor maternal weight gain in pregnancy due to an inadequate diet increases the risk of premature delivery, low birth weight and birth defects. Objectives : To stud y the dietary habits, nutrient intake and about nutritional knowledge of pregnant women from 2 socio - economic strata from Mumbai City Methods : A cohort study was conducted on pregnant women with 50 women each visiting private and government hospital. A pre tested oral cum interview questionnaire was devised and administered to collect the relevant information Results : A significant association of number of meals (χ2=14.729) snacks (χ2=18.415) and appetite (χ2=12.906), was found with women from private hospi tals consuming more meals and snacks per day (p<0.05) and had increased appetite in comparison to pregnant women from government hospital (p=0.002). For difficulty in food consumption, 22% pregnant women reported difficulty eating cereals, 21% soya, 5% ani mal products, 18% fruits, 8% vegetables and 22% milk and milk products. Significantly higher percentage of women from private hospitals had better nutritional knowledge during pregnancy carried snacks to work/out, knew that nutrient needs increases from 2n d trimester, were aware of how many servings of foods they should eat/day as compared to women from government hospitals (p<0.05) Conclusion : Pregnant women from private hospital had better dietary habits, nutrient intake and nutritional knowledge. Nutriti on knowledge and awareness programmes need to be planned for pregnant women from government hospitals.