Maternal Dietary Patterns and Practices and Birth Weight in Northern Ghana

Abstract

BackgroundAdequate maternal nutrition is a key factor for achieving good pregnancy outcomes. Moreover, inadequate dietary intake during pregnancy is considered an important contributor to maternal malnutrition in developing countries. Although some studies have examined the effect of the entire diet on birth outcome, most studies have been very narrow because they considered the effect of single nutrient. The single nutrient approach is a major setback because usually several nutrient deficiencies are more likely to occur than single deficiencies especially in low-income settings.ObjectivesThe main aim of this study was to investigate the association between maternal dietary patterns, and practices and birth weight in Northern Ghana.Participant SettingsA facility-based cross-sectional survey was performed in two districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. The selected districts were the Tamale Metropolis and Savelugu-Nanton District. These districts were purposively sampled to represent a mix of urban, peri-urban and rural populations, therefore ensuring that the distribution in social groups of the study population was similar to the entire population of the region. In all, 578 mothers who were drawing antenatal and postnatal care services were interviewed using a questionnaire, which asked the mothers about their frequency of consumption of individual foods per week since they became pregnant or when they were pregnant.Statistical AnalysisWe determined dietary patterns by applying a factor analysis with a varimax rotation using STATA. Multivariate analysis was used to establish association between maternal factors and dietary patterns. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between dietary practices and patterns and birth weight.ResultsWomen who ate outside the home twice a week (OR = 1.6 & 95% CI; 1.1–2.45, P; 0.017) and those who practiced ‘pica’ (OR = 1.7 & 95% CI; 1.16–2.75, P; 0.008) had increased odds for low birth. Two dietary patterns were identified—namely ‘health conscious’ and ‘non-health conscious’. Health conscious diet (OR = 0.23 95% CI 0.12–0.45 per standard deviation change in scores, P; <0.0001) and dietary diversity score (OR = 0.10 95% CI 0.04–0.13 per standard deviation change in scores, P; <0.0001) showed a protective effect for low birth weight respectively after adjusting for gestational age.ConclusionMothers who practiced good nutrition such as consuming foods across and within the various food groups were less likely to have low birth weight babies. Our findings buttress the importance of optimal nutrition during pregnancy.

Maternal Anthropometry and Dietary Diversity Associated with Birth Weight in Maternity Hospitals in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)

“…Excess birth weight in this study could be explained by maternal anthropometry before and during pregnancy as well as gestational weight gain. In addition, several studies have shown that excess birth weight is primarily associated with excess maternal weight before pregnancy, excess gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes and multiparity [11,37,38]. This could be consistent with the characteristics of women in this study with the exception of gestational diabetes.…”

“…These results indicate 7.6% and 5.5% respectively of LBW and excess birth weight. Similar results have been reported in other countries in Africa within the same population type [11,13,28].…”

“…For LBW, the results of this study are similar to those of Onubogu et al [28] in Nigeria, but much lower than 13% and 14% LBW, respectively mentioned in Abidjan and at national level [26]. In Africa, on the other hand, LBW prevalence ranges from 14 to 28%, almost two to three times higher than our results [11,29,30]. The reason why the prevalence of LBW is low in this study might be due on the one hand to the age of mothers.…”

“…This could be consistent with the characteristics of women in this study with the exception of gestational diabetes. On the other hand, the prevalence of excess birth weight ranging from 7 to 14.8% higher than ours, were found in other countries in Africa [11,13,28,39].…”

“…The use of the women dietary diversity score (WDDS) as a tool for assessing maternal dietary intake and its relationship to pregnancy outcomes has been explored by several authors [10][11][12][13] but with divergent results. Indeed, as modifiable risk factors, the study of eating habits often associated with increased risks of adverse outcomes of pregnancy [14,15], can be integrated into pregnant women health care.…”