Assessment of Nutritional Status of Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care Cen-ters in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria

Background: Good nutrition is a prerequisite for the national development of countries and for the well-being of every individual. Although problems related to poor nutrition affect the entire population, women and children are especially vulnerable because of their physiological and socio-economic characteristic. Pregnancy places extra nutritional demands on women and this may affect the development of the foetus and its health later in life. The nutritional demands however does not necessarily translate to increase in the amount of food to be consumed but certain nutrients such as protein, iron, folate, zinc and iodine are required in higher proportions to prevent anaemia and abortion. The general objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status of pregnant women aged 15-49 years that were attending antenatal care (ANC) at Primary Healthcare Centres, Odo-Otin Local Govern-ment Area, Osun State, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 400 pregnant women attending ANC at Primary Health Care Centres in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State over a period of four weeks. Their anthropometric and bio-chemical data were determined. Their bio-data and dietary investigation were obtained using a question-naire. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and P was drawn at 0.05. Results: One hundred and thirty two (33.3%) of the participants were malnourished with their mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) less than 23cm. Anaemia was found in 127(31.8%) of participants and of this proportion, civil servants were more commonly affected 54 (42.5%). Of the 90 participants that were civil servants, 46.5% were under-weight and they were the most malnourished while farmers had the least proportion (15.8%) of underweight participants (P=0.001). More than half (51.8%) of those who earned less than N10,000.00 were under-weight compared with 8.3% of those who earned more than N50,000.00 (P=0.001). One hundred and eight (94.7%) of those who skipped meals were under-weight compared to 6.3% of those who do not (P=0.001). Hence, 82.7% of those who skipped meals were anaemic as compared to17.3% of those who do not (P=0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition among pregnant women in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria was moderately low. However, it is worth noting that pregnant women who were Civil Servants were more malnourished .