Pregnant women's knowledge on nutrition.

Abstract

Nutrition is an important aspect throughout a pregnant woman's life; therefore every pregnant woman should be knowledgeable on this subject. General knowledge on the foods which need to be avoided and those that should be taken during pregnancy is of paramount importance. In order to gain insight on the pregnant women's knowledge on nutrition during pregnancy, a small quantitative study was used. The main objectives were to examine pregnant women's knowledge about each of the different food groups, as well as to identify the pregnant women's views about the availability of nutritional information during pregnancy. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the sample of 30 women, who were provided with a structured questionnaire, to gather the data needed. Data was analysed manually, using simple descriptive statistics as in simple percentages. Response rate was 100%. All 30 participants showed a general knowledge on nutrition in pregnancy. However, not all 30 participants knew about the foods which need to be avoided during pregnancy. The overall general knowledge of women participating in this study is still not satisfactory, and the mothers themselves feel that more detailed information needs to be provided. As compared to other similar studies, this study implies the presence of basic knowledge amongst the participants. It appears that information giving still seems to be lacking, however,· the information which is already available, might not be reaching every pregnant woman. Therefore, further sound information needs to be given out to pregnant women, during courses and throughout effective media.