Dietary intake and nutritional status of pregnant women in Magubike village, Kilosa district

Dietary inadequacy and malnutrition among pregnant women has a direct impact on pregnancy outcome. The causes of maternal malnutrition include inadequate food intake, poor nutritional quality of diets, frequent infections and short inter-pregnancy intervals. Tanzania is faced with high maternal malnutrition especially in the rural areas. The aim of this study was to assess the dietary intake and determine the nutritional status of pregnant women in rural Tanzania. Although pregnancy problems continue to exist among women in rural settings, less has been documented about their dietary adequacy and nutritional status. Pregnant women in Magubike village in Kilosa District, Morogoro Region participated in the study. A total of sixty two pregnant women were randomly selected and recruited for the study. Socio-demographic data were collected through interviews using a structured questionnaire. Dietary intake was assessed using the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) method. Foods consumed by pregnant women in the study area were analysed to determine the nutrient content and composition.. Standard procedures of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists were used to determine the moisture content, fat, protein (N x 6.25), ash, and fibre content. Energy value was calculated using the Atwater’s conversion factors. Minerals (iron, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc and calcium) were determined by the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. To assess the nutritional status of pregnant women anthropometric measurements were taken. These included assessing weight gain of the pregnant women. Weight gain was determined using weight gain recommendations from reexamining guidelines of weight gain during pregnancy. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 12.5 for windows. Pregnant women in Magubike had low nutrient intake i.e. they consumed 54 grams of protein in their daily diet which is less compared to the actual required amount of 60 g per day. They also consumed 27 grams of fat in their daily diet which also falls shortiii of the actual required amount of 43 gms (18% kcal). Total energy intake was 1231.3 kcal per day compared to the recommended energy intake (2500-2700 kcal/day). On average mineral consumption was also insufficient. Zinc consumption was 1.9 mg/day; Calcium between 0.002 mg/day; and iron intake was 7.8 mg/day. The nutritional status of the pregnant women in Magubike village was poor i.e. weight gain per week in the second and third trimesters, was decreased due to poor dietary intake. Therefore, nutritional inadequacies exist among pregnant women in Magubike village. The study recommends that a combination of locally available foods should be made available to get a balanced nutrient meal that can be consumed by pregnant women to provide adequate amounts of iron, zinc and calcium.