International Journal of Women's Health (Apr 2022)
Dietary Diversity Among Pregnant Women in Gurage Zone, South Central Ethiopia: Assessment Based on Longitudinal Repeated Measurement
Abstract
Teshome Gensa Geta,1,2 Samson Gebremedhin,3 Akinyinka O Omigbodun2,4 1Department of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia; 2Pan African University, Life and Earth Science Institutes (Including Health and Agriculture), Ibadan, Nigeria; 3School of Public Health, College of Health Science and Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 4Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NigeriaCorrespondence: Teshome Gensa Geta, Tel +251 910686501, Email [email protected]: Dietary diversity is a key proxy indicator of nutrient adequacy; however, limited studies have been done on it among pregnant women in Ethiopia. The study aimed to examine the prevalence of sub-optimal dietary diversity and its associated factors among pregnant women in Gurage zone, South Central Ethiopia.Materials and Methods: A mixed-method approach, a longitudinal study complemented with an exploratory qualitative study, was conducted. In the longitudinal study, a consecutively included sample of 668 pregnant women was followed in three rounds of survey. Dietary diversity was assessed using the minimum dietary diversity score for women (MDD-W) tool. The average of three dietary diversity scores was used to define overall diversity. Consuming less than 5 of 10 standard food groups was considered as suboptimal dietary diversity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of suboptimal dietary diversity. Qualitative data were analysed using the thematic analysis method.Results: During the 16 to 20, 28 to 29 and 36 to 37 weeks of gestation surveys, 75.0, 78.7 and 76.5% of the women had sub-optimal dietary diversity. In aggregate, 84.4% (95% CI: 81.6, 87.3) of the women had sub-optimal dietary diversity. Rural residents (AOR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.01, 3.62), women with no formal education (AOR: 5.51, 95% CI: 1.96, 15.53) and from food insecure households (AOR: 2.44, 95% CI: 1.07, 5.59) had higher odds of suboptimal dietary diversity. Women with higher nutritional knowledge (AOR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87, 0.98) were less likely to have suboptimal dietary diversity. Food taboos, poor nutritional literacy and pregnancy complications were also reported as factors affecting dietary diversity.Conclusion: Majority of pregnant women in the area had sub-optimal dietary diversity. Improving the socio-economic status and promoting nutrition knowledge may improve women’s dietary diversity.Keywords: dietary diversity, pregnant women, maternal nutrition, Ethiopia
