Dietary Diversity, Nutritional Status, and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women in Their First Trimester of Pregnancy in Ambo District, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Poor dietary diversity and undernutrition is a major public health concern for pregnant mothers. Optimal dietary diversity is essential during pregnancy since nutritional deficiencies may have a significant impact on both the mother’s and the fetus’s health. Pregnant women in Ambo district had inadequate dietary diversity and were undernourished, but their status during the first trimester of pregnancy was not known. As a result, the objective of this research was to assess the dietary diversity, nutritional status, and associated factors among pregnant women in the Ambo district. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design and a multi-stage sampling technique were used among 750 pregnant women. Data was gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire. The Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance questionnaire was modified to collect data on dietary diversity. The nutritional status of pregnant women was assessed by measuring the mid-upper arm circumference. First, descriptive statistics like mean, Standard deviation, frequency and percentage were used, then bivariable and, finally, multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of the predictors with the outcome variable. Result: The study revealed that 73.6% and 23.9% of pregnant women had low dietary diversity and were undernourished, respectively. Being in food secured household (AOR = 4.44, 95% CI: 2.14-9.15), having good knowledge (AOR = 3.32, 95% CI: 2.10-5.23) and favorable attitude toward nutrition and health (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.10-2.66) were significantly associated with dietary diversity, whereas household size (having 1-3 household members AOR = 6.59, 95% CI: 2.53-17.21, having 4-5 household members AOR = 5.62, 95% CI: 3.15-9.99), being in food secured household (AOR = 5.64, 95% CI: 2.79-11.38), having high dietary diversity (AOR = 8.49, 95% CI: 2.47-29.23), and having optimal practice on nutrition and health (AOR = 6.85, 95% CI: 3.23-14.55) were significantly associated with undernutrition (P