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Maternal and Child Health Journal
Published in: Maternal and Child Health Journal 10/2016

01-10-2016

What do Pregnant Women Know About the Healthy Eating Guidelines for Pregnancy? A Web-Based Questionnaire

Authors: Amelia Lee, Regina Belski, Jessica Radcliffe, Michelle Newton

Published in: Maternal and Child Health Journal | Issue 10/2016

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Abstract

Objectives This study explored nutrition knowledge of pregnant women, and how it correlated with participant characteristics, their main sources of information and changes to their diet since becoming pregnant. Methods Pregnant women residing in Australia accessing pregnancy forums on the internet were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire on general nutrition and pregnancy-specific nutrition guidelines. Results Of the 165 eligible questionnaire responses, 114 were complete and included in the analysis. Pregnancy nutrition knowledge was associated with education (r s = 0.21, p < 0.05) and income (r s = 0.21, p < 0.05). Only 2 % of pregnant women achieved nutrition knowledge scores over 80 %. Few women received nutrition advice during their pregnancy, of which most were advised by their doctor. Dietary changes adopted since becoming pregnant included consuming more fruit, vegetables, dairy and high fibre foods. Conclusions for Practice Pregnant women in this study had limited knowledge of the dietary guidelines for healthy eating during pregnancy. Furthermore, nutrition counselling in maternity care appears to be infrequent. One approach to optimising maternal diets and subsequently preventing adverse health outcomes is to enhance their knowledge of the pregnancy nutrition guidelines through the provision of nutritional counselling. Furthermore, research exploring the access and use of nutrition resources, and nutrition advice provided to pregnant women is recommended to understand how knowledge impacts on dietary behaviour.
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Metadata
Title
What do Pregnant Women Know About the Healthy Eating Guidelines for Pregnancy? A Web-Based Questionnaire
Authors
Amelia Lee
Regina Belski
Jessica Radcliffe
Michelle Newton
Publication date
01-10-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Maternal and Child Health Journal / Issue 10/2016
Print ISSN: 1092-7875
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6628
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2071-4

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