Food aversion and its association with pregnant women's nutritional status in Teticha Woreda, Sidama Region, Ethiopia: A community-based mixed comparative cross-sectional study.

Background: Food aversion is one of the reasons for maternal undernutrition. Early screening for maternal undernutrition risk factors would improve the ability to recognize this problem and intervene early. Hence, this study was intended to identify the association of food aversion with maternal nutritional status.

Objectives: To assess food aversion and its association with pregnant women's nutritional status in Teticha Woreda, Sidama region, Ethiopia, March, 2022.

Methods: In Teticha Woreda, a mixed community-based comparative cross-sectional study was carried out from 1 March to 15 April 2022. Data were collected using an unstructured interview guide for qualitative data and a structured questionnaire for quantitative data. Epi-Data version 3.1 was used to enter quantitative data. Quantitative data were exported and cleaned and analyzed in SPSS version 20. For the quantitative data, descriptive statistics were calculated. To identify predictors of low nutritional status and control for confounders, multivariable logistic regression was utilized. Using Pearson's Chi-square test, the association between food aversion and the anthropometric status of pregnant women was examined.

Results: Maternal undernutrition was found in 109 (48.9%; 95% CI: 42.4%-55.4%) of pregnant women with food aversion and 69 (30.9%; 95% CI: 25.1%-37.2%) women without food aversion (mid-upper arm circumference 23 cm). A significant proportion of mothers 95 (42.6%) stated that food aversion stemmed from the taste or smell of the food. Some mothers avoided "Enset," while others avoided foods like cereal, milk, and coffee. In the Chi-square test, pregnant women who had food aversion had a higher likelihood of maternal undernutrition as compared to women who did not have food aversion (p-value of 0.000).

Conclusion: This study found higher magnitude of undernutrition among pregnant women who had food aversion as compared to their counterparts. Nutritional interventions, especially nutritional counseling focusing on food aversion, are essential to tackle maternal undernutrition.