Impact of health professionals' nutrition education on pregnant women's awareness of pregnancy-specific nutrition and adoption of healthy eating habits

Abstract

Background

Proper nutrition during pregnancy is essential for maternal health and fetal development. Inadequate dietary intake is associated with adverse outcomes such as anemia, low birth weight, preterm birth, and inadequate maternal weight gain. Despite the importance of maternal nutrition, many pregnant women have limited knowledge about proper dietary practices due to cultural beliefs, lack of information, and inconsistent healthcare counseling. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of health professionals' nutrition education on pregnant women’s awareness and dietary practices.

Methods

A facility-based, single-group pre–post quasi-experimental study was conducted over three months, with 200 pregnant women in their first and second trimesters. Stratified random sampling was used to select participants from antenatal care (ANC) clinics. The intervention involved structured nutrition education delivered by trained health professionals through counseling sessions, printed materials, and self- study leaflets. Data on nutritional knowledge and dietary practices were collected using a structured questionnaire at three points: pre-intervention, immediately post- intervention, and six weeks later. Paired t-tests and repeated-measures ANOVA were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Participants demonstrated a significant improvement in nutrition knowledge, with mean knowledge scores increasing from 5.2 (SD: 1.4) pre-intervention to 9.8 (SD: 1.0) immediately after the intervention and 9.6 (SD: 1.2) at six weeks follow-up (p < 0.001). Dietary practices also improved; adherence to iron supplementation increased from 40.0% to 93.3%, while daily meal intake and fruit/vegetable consumption rose from 60.0% and 50.0% to 98.3% and 96.7%, respectively. Women with higher education and frequent ANC visits exhibited greater knowledge retention.

Conclusion: The study highlights the effectiveness of structured nutritional education in improving pregnant women’s knowledge and dietary habits. Integrating nutrition education into ANC services can enhance maternal health and fetal outcomes. Future research should assess the long-term impact on birth outcomes and explore scalable interventions to improve maternal nutrition at a national level.