Research Article Open Access

A Comparative Study of Nutritional Awareness among Urban-Rural Pregnant Mothers

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the existing practices, knowledge and attitude of mothers towards nutrition during pregnancy in urban and rural area. A cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women visiting Antenatal clinic at urban & rural field practice area from June to November 2012.Semi structured questionnaires were used to gather the socio-demographic data, knowledge, attitude & practices about nutrition during pregnancy. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 18.0. The nutritional knowledge and practices of urban mothers are high compared to rural mothers , while rural and urban mothers had almost equal positive attitude towards nutrition. It has been shown that 68% of urban respondents and 73% of rural respondents are avoiding some foods like papaya, coconut, and meat during pregnancy. The above findings can be used to plan a customized nutritional intervention programme aiming to improve the maternal nutritional knowledge and practices and eventually improve the health status of the pregnant mothers especially in rural areas.

BS Payghan, Swapna S Kadam, and R Mayuri Reddy

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