Evaluation of Dietary Patterns and the Related Factors in Pregnant Women Who Referred to Health Centers in Qom, Iran

Pregnancy is one of the most important stages in the life of women. It is associated with increased nutritional requirements since pregnant women are very vulnerable to malnutrition. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the food groups intake pattern and its effective factors in pregnant women in Qom, Iran.

This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 360 pregnant women who referred to health centers. Two questionnaires were used to collect demographic and dietary recall information. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 20) using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, and chi-square.

Based on the results of this study, the mean age, weight, and height of the subjects were 27.72 years, 72.59 kg, and 162 cm, respectively. Moreover, the mean daily intake of bread and cereals, milk and dairy products, fruits, vegetables, meat and egg, nuts and legumes, and miscellaneous groups were 8.26, 1.91, 4.60, 1.90, 2.43, 1.82, and 0.81 respectively. The mean of total daily calorie intake was 1424.81. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between economic status and daily calorie intake (P<0/05).

The daily consumption of milk and dairy products, vegetables, meat and eggs, and nuts and legumes were less than the recommended standard. This indicates the need for education of pregnant women and the facilitation of the relevant factors for the reception of these food groups.