Nutritional status of pregnant women attending antenatal care services in primary health care management board Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The nutritional status of a woman during pregnancy is important, as suboptimal diet impacts negatively on the health of the mother, the foetus and the newborn.

Objective: This study assessed the nutritional status of pregnant women living in different socioeconomic conditions in Kano state.

Methods: An observational analytic cross-sectional study was carried out amongst pregnant women attending selected government health centres in the six zones of Kano state primary health care. A total of 276 (14-49 years) consenting pregnant women were selected for the study. Demographic and clinical data were collected using structured questionnaires, the data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 and level of significance was accepted at p < 0.05.

Results: Majority (95.7%) of the respondents reported being married, most (57.4%) of them were 21 – 30 years of age and about 64.5% lived in monogamous family, 62.4% were traders, and 41.3% had Quranic education. Significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed in mean values of the respondents BMI, protein and globulin of 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd trimesters. The consumption of fat, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), sodium, potassium, calcium, folate, vitamins A and E were lower than the RNI across the trimesters. However, energy, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, vitamins B₁, B₂, B₆, C, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron intake were found to be equal or greater than the RNI in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd trimesters.

Conclusion: Malnutrition existed amongst the pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the study area. Therefore, effective nutrition intervention should target them not just to improve their nutritional status but also their pregnancy outcome.

Keywords: Pregnancy and malnutrition