Survey of Pregnant Women’s Attitude towards Healthy Nutrition in Yazd City

Saeedeh Sadeghi; Mahsa Khodayarian; Seyed Saeed  Mazloomy Mahmoodabad; Azadeh Nadjarzadeh; Hossein Fallahzadeh

doi:10.18502/jnfs.v8i1.11762

Saeedeh Sadeghi Department of Health Education & Promotion, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran;
Mahsa Khodayarian Department of Health Education & Promotion, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran;
Seyed Saeed Mazloomy Mahmoodabad Department of Health Education & Promotion, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Azadeh Nadjarzadeh Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Hossein Fallahzadeh Research Center of Prevention and Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Disease, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jnfs.v8i1.11762

Keywords: Pregnancy; Healthy Nutrition; Attitude

Abstract

Background: Healthy nutrition is a part of a healthy pregnancy. Having a poor food attitude towards healthy nutrition often leads to unfavorable consequences for the mother and her baby. Health care providers need to be aware of these attitudes, so that they can focus their attention on pregnant women during this critical period. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the attitude to healthy nutrition of pregnant women in Yazd city, Iran. Methods: The present cross-sectional descriptive study included 250 pregnant women aged 18-49 years who referred to community health centers, without any background diseases using random sampling method. The face and content validity of the researcher-made questionnaire was confirmed by experts. Its reliability was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha method and completed by self-reporting. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: The mean score of pregnant women’s attitude towards healthy nutrition was 132.7 ± 22.0. According to the results, despite the obstacles to providing healthy and practical food for pregnant women, such as their high cost, research units sought to provide healthy food during this period. Also, there was an inverse relationship between nutrition-related attitudes during pregnancy and higher pregnancy rates. Multiparous women had fewer misconceptions than primiparous women, which require training of health professionals to prescribe appropriate food attitudes. Conclusion: In general, it can be inferred that the women of the present study adhered to their nutritional attitudes that originated from their culture, and this study was able to provide a clear picture of the cultural attitudes to healthy nutrition of pregnant women in Yazd.