The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Factors and Food Security in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Background: Food security is among the phenomena that have influenced the worldwide policy-making in the recent years. Furthermore, recent studies have reported extensive food insecurity in Iran. Objectives: The present study aimed at defining the levels of food security and investigating its correlation with socioeconomic factors among pregnant women in city of Rasht (Iran) in 2014. Methods: The present cross sectional study included 420 pregnant women in their 14 to 42 weeks of pregnancy. The sampling method was convenience, and the data were collected using demographic-obstetrics, socioeconomic factors, and food security status questionnaires through face-to-face interviews. The data were analyzed using SPSS 19. Results:The results revealed that 30.9% of the pregnant women had food insecurity (19.6% had food insecurity without hunger, 8.9% had moderate hunger, and 2.4% had severe hunger), while 69.1% had complete food security. Food security was significantly correlated with socioeconomic status of the family, residence area, husband's occupation, number of employed family members, monthly income, and monthly food cost (P value < 0.001). The results of the logistic regression analysis revealed that husband's occupation (OR = 1.28), economic status (OR = 1.53), and residence area (OR = 1.43) had increasing effects on food insecurity. Conclusions: Considering the high prevalence of food insecurity among pregnant women and its adverse impact on the mother and the fetus, it seems necessary to investigate the level of food security in women during prenatal care and to support pregnant women with food insecurity in particular.

Relationship of socioeconomic status, psychosocial factors, and food insecurity with preterm labor: A longitudinal study

“…To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been conducted evaluating the association of food insecurity with preterm labor. The results of other studies pinpointed the association of food insecurity with maternal adverse outcomes such as gestational diabetes, excessive overweight during pregnancy, and hypertension (11, 23).…”

The Relationship between Structural Social Determinants of Health and Food Insecurity among Pregnant Women

“…A few studies have measured the status of food insecurity among pregnant women. Yadegari et al (2014) reported a prevalence of 30.9% in Rasht province (6). Moreover, Laraia et al (2006) reported a marginal prevalence of 15% (7).…”

“…The sample size for evaluating the relationship between SDH and food insecurity was 329 with respect to a prevalence rate of 31% (P, 31%; d, 0.05) (6). In addition, with regard to the sampling method (cluster sampling) and design effect of 2, the sample size was measured at 658.…”

“…For instance, Laraia et al (2006) and Yadegari et al (2017) reported the prevalence of food insecurity to be 24% and 30.9%, respectively (6,7). Overall, food insecurity, as a useful indicator of health and wellbeing, is a major public health concern, which can be In industrialized countries, there is a positive correlation between diet quality and socioeconomic status, as described by conventional indicators, such as occupation, education, or income level (12).…”

Exploring the nutritional beliefs of pregnant women in Yazd city

“…Women with poor economic status may face restrictions that may affect their pregnancy. In the study of Yadegari et al (2017), 30.9% of pregnant women did not have food security; they stated that food security is related to socioeconomic factors of the family, monthly income and monthly cost of food supply [ 15 ]. Working women who participated in this study stated that they did not have enough time for cooking and preparing proper nutrition for themselves during pregnancy and therefore felt deficient in themselves; In this regard, Jong (2017) and colleagues in their study found that energy, protein, vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium and potassium levels were significantly lower in working pregnant women [ 16 ].…”