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Awareness Of Good Nutrition During Pregnancy Among Women Of Childbearing Age
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Naomi M (2010)
Malnutrition is one of the most serious health problems affecting
children and their mothers in Ethiopia. Undernourished mothers face
greater risks during pregnancy and childbirth, and their children set
off on a weaker developmental path, both physically and mentally.
Undernourished children have lower resistance to infection and are more
likely to die from common childhood ailments as diarrheal diseases and
respiratory infections. Those who survive may be locked into a vicious
cycle of recurring sickness and faltering growth, often with
irreversible damage to their cognitive and social development.
Malnutrition prevents individuals and even the whole country from
achieving full potential, and is closely related with survival, poverty
and development. The incidence of dietary inadequacies as a result of
dietary habits and patterns in pregnancy is higher during pregnancy than
at any other stage of the life cycle. It was shown that, nutrition
knowledge was predictive of change in dietary habits and health advices
encouraged expectant women to advance their food intake positively.
Several
studies including Villar has indicated that the correlation between
poor maternal nutritional status and adverse birth outcomes is complex
and are influenced by many biologic, socioeconomic, and demographic
factors, which vary widely in different populations. It is therefore,
the promotion of women’s health and other preventive health care
practice should start before birth, during intrauterine life and extends
throughout different phases of their lives in order to sustain their
reproductive health in general. The importance of maternal nutrition
during pregnancy has long been recognized. The National Academy of
Science in America issued a report that reviewed studies of reproductive
experience concluded that adequate prenatal nutrition was one of the
most important environmental factors affecting the health of pregnant
women and their babies. (Villar J, Merialdi M, Abalos E, Carroli G, et
al., 2003)
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
According to UNICEF (2009),
each year, more than half a million women die from causes related to
pregnancy and childbirth. Nearly 4 million newborns die within 28 days
of birth. Many of the 200 million women who become pregnant each year,
most of them in developing countries, suffer from ongoing nutritional
deficiencies repeated infections and the long term cumulative
consequences of under nutrition during their own childhood years.
Many
women suffer from a combination of chronic energy deficiency, poor
weight gain in pregnancy, anemia, and other micronutrient deficiencies,
as well as infections like HIV and malaria. Poor nutrition diminishes a
woman’s productivity, causing repercussions for herself, her family, her
community, and the broader society. Maternal malnutrition is influenced
not only by lack of adequate nutrition but also influenced by factors
like socio demographic factors, nutritional knowledge of mothers during
pregnancies. It is on this ground that this research work investigate
into the awareness of good nutrition during pregnancy among women of
child bearing age.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]ABSTRACTThis research work was designed to examine the awareness of good nutrition during pregnancy among women of childbearing age. Six (6) research questions were formulated and questionnaires were administered to one hundred (100) respondents in order to gather data for the research. Results showed that the pregnant women are aware of the importance of good nutrition to a child bearing mother. It was discovered that the level of education among child bearing age mother does affect their level ... Continue reading---
