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Assessment Of Nutritional Knowledge, Beliefs And Practices In Pregnant Women
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CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Introduction
Nutrition is a process of
getting the right food for good health, growth and development. It is
also the kind of food you eat and the way it affects your health. Good
nutrition is vital for good health and it is one of the requirements to
meet physiological changes and activity needs of different ages.
Nutrition is the process of supplying and receiving nourishment; it is
the science of food values (Advance Learners’ Dictionary, 1980).
Nutrition as the process of giving or getting the right kind of food for good health and growth (Krause, 2004).
The
knowledge of nutrition by pregnant women is very important, as this
will enable them to know the kind of food or drugs to take at any given
time. The knowledge of nutrition enables pregnant women to be aware of
the type of nutrition to be taken, helps pregnant women to identity and
eat those foods that assist their unborn babies to be healthy (Uzor,
2006).
Believing in an intake of particular foods by pregnant women
is very essential, because pregnant women who believe in taking certain
foods and drugs not only remain healthy, but assist their unborn babies
to be healthy. Pregnant women who believe in taking certain diets,
deliver their babies strong and healthy (Siimon, 2000).
The practice
of nutrition among pregnant women is equally important. This is because,
it is one thing to have the knowledge of nutrition and or believe in
intake of particular foods, it is very crucial and recommendable for
pregnant mothers to form the regular habits of practicing eating good
and healthy diets or foods as the benefits therefrom are great (Barnes,
1990).
The knowledge, believe and practices of food nutrition differ
in different places. For instance, in India and any other developed
countries of the world, pregnant women compulsorily develop the habit of
practicing nutrition due to the kind of environment they are in. For
instance, pregnant mothers in the developed world, are more exposed to
better nutrition than those in the developing world (Lewis, 2001). They
have the wherewithal to purchase and eat whatever diet they want.
In
Nigeria, many women who are pregnant are not exposed to knowledge,
belief and practice of nutrition. This is due to the level of education
among Nigerian women. Most pregnant women in Nigeria are illiterate and
dwell in the rural areas where information dissemination is difficult
and therefore, most pregnant women in Nigeria do not practice nutrition
(Onuoha, 2002). Not only being illiterates, they lack the wherewithal to
purchase and at whatever diet they need due to poverty.
The practice
and belief in nutrition among women who are pregnant in Lagos State,
cannot be different from what is obtainable in Nigeria. Except that most
pregnant women who dwell in the city of Lagos are aware of nutrition
and its effect on health vitality of both mothers and their unborn
babies. Most women who live in cities of Lagos State, have much
information on nutrition and do develop positive belief and exhibits
good practices of the intake of certain foods and drugs during their
pregnancies (Nkemdirim, 2007).
Good food is a basic necessity for
normal organ development and function, reproduction, growth and
maintenance of optimum resistance to infection and ability to repair
body damages (Banks, 1993).
Good nutrition is a fundamental part of a
healthy life-style. It is very essential if you are planning to become
pregnant. Both mother and father to be need to be healthy to provide
strong genetic material for the child to be and a healthy womb to grow
into it (Almond, 2000).
Nutritional beliefs of pregnant women mean
traditional beliefs regarding harmful and beneficial foods for women
during pregnancy. There are also beliefs regarding the optimal amount of
food to be taken during pregnancy for a successful reproductive out
come. These beliefs may or may not conform to the modern biomedical
notions about the proper type and amount of food needed by pregnant
women to safeguard maternal nutrition, adequate growth of foetus and
safe delivery (Allport, 1999). For instance, “An economy and political
weekly published, September 10 2004â€, revealed that in India, the food
taken by a large section of pregnant women is deficient in caloric
content, protein, and other nutrients(a leading cause of maternal and
child mortality) (Monde, 2001).
Three well known reasons for low
nutritional status of pregnant women in India are wide spread poverty;
discrimination against women and female children in household food
distribution and health care; and lack or poor quality of antenatal care
(Alpha, 1998).
Whether or not the beliefs and practice regarding
food during pregnancy are significant additional reasons for the low
nutritional status of pregnant and undesirable reproductive outcome in
India is an important question which has been hardly addressed by
scholars (Bruce, 1999).
The practices about food during pregnancy by
women are generally by choice (Bruke, 1991). For instance, the concept
of hot and cold food are quite wide spread in India and many other
countries, but the underlining criteria for classifying food as “hot†or
“cold†are often not clear.
A balance of hot and cold is necessary
for body wellbeing and since pregnancy generates a state of hotness, it
is desirable to bring a balance by cold foods (Mathew and Benjamin 1999;
Nichter and Nichter 1989).
Generally, adequate nutrition in pregnant
women is one of the most crucial components of healthy society. Many of
the chronic, on going problems that women experience in health,
employment and productivity can be alleviated if they receive adequate
nutrition through out their life cycle (Edward, 1996).
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This study was carried out to examine the effect of nutritional knowledge on nutritional practice and belief among pregnant women in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State. The study focused on women attending the ante-natal clinic at five Health Centres in Lagos State. The subjects were made of women of various ages with different socio-cultural and economic levels. The descriptive research survey design was used to assess the opinions of selected respondents from five health centres ... Continue reading---
