Nutrient intake and dietary pattern among pregnant women visiting the tertiary level hospital of Nepal

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy demands adequate nutritional requirements for foetal growth, good health of pregnant women and to avoid adverse effects during pregnancy. Women from developing countries with limited resources have inadequate consumption of nutritional diets. This paper assesses the nutrient intake and dietary pattern of Nepalese pregnant women compared with recommended nutrient intake. This paper also observes trimester wise nutrient intake among pregnant women in Nepal.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 323 pregnant women who visited Gynaecology and Obstetrics Out-Patient Department (OPD) at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) for regular Antenatal Care (ANC) check-ups. Systematic random sampling methods were followed and data were collected from September 2016 to October 2016. Nutrient intake was evaluated with a 24-hour dietary recall method and compared with the Nepalese Food Composition Table 2017 for available nutrients. Face-to-face structured interviews were conducted to assess the nutrient intake of the respondents. The data were entered in Microsoft Excel 2007 and statistical analysis was carried out in SPSS v26. The descriptive analysis was done to identify the distribution of socio-demographic variables of pregnant women. The one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean of nutrient intake distribution while Tukey’s post-hoc test was done to compare trimester-wise nutrient intakes.Results: Except for fat, the intake of nutrients were below the Nepalese Recommended Nutrient Intake. Carbohydrate and energy intake in the second and third trimester was significantly different from that in the first trimester (p = 0.006 and 0.004 respectively for carbohydrates and p = 0.009 and 0.002 respectively for energy intake). However, riboflavin intake was significantly lower only in the third trimester as compared to the first (p = 0.025) while there were no significant intake differences between the first and second trimester and second and third trimester. No significant trimester wise differences were observed for intake distribution of other nutrients. Cereal intake was found to be abundant in the diet of pregnant women followed by pulses, legumes, and other vegetables.Conclusion: The research concludes inadequate nutrient intake among pregnant women as compared to the national Recommended Nutrient Intake.