ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE & PRACTICES REGARDING ANTENATAL CARE GUIDELINES AND IMPACT OF DIETARY PRACTICE ON THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE ROHINGYA COMMUNITY

Abstract

Pregnant and lactating women (PLW), along with children, are the most vulnerable groups of population during emergencies. Despite being a vulnerable population, pregnant women's health especially proper antenatal care and adequate dietary diversity does not receive the same attention as child health does in the Rohingya refugee scenario. This study was aimed to examine pregnant women's level of knowledge and practice regarding antenatal care guidelines and their dietary practices along with nutritional status. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from January-June 2022, among 463 randomly selected pregnant mothers, residing on Kutupalong (Camp 5 & Camp 6), located at Cox’s Bazar. Data were collected using systematic sampling method. A pre-tested researcher administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The Women Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) was adopted to assess dietary diversity by using a 24-hr dietary recall method and nutritional status was measured using MUAC measurements and via BMI. SPSS version 25 IBM was used for analysis purpose. About 71.5% of the participants were found of having a good knowledge score and 55.5% with a good practice score. Underwhelming level of knowledge was found on consumption of iron and folic acid during pregnancy (23.3%), on the impact of nutrients deficiency (40.6%) and on the benefits of ANC checkup (46%). The least level of practice was seen on consuming additional food (12.1%) ensuring a variety of food (16.6%), and having at least 8 hr. of sleep (27.2%). No of the respondent’s child, husband’s occupational status and household income source were found positively associated (p<0.05) with both knowledge and practice score. About 64% pregnant women had medium, 32% had low and only 4% had high dietary diversity score. Respondent’s age, educational level, occupational status along with husband’s educational level, occupational status and household income source were found positively associated (p<0.005) with dietary diversity score. Around 10.6% of the pregnant women were malnourished based on MUAC. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, respondent’s age, pregnancy status, respondent’s educational level, household income was significantly associated with the nutritional status of pregnant women. Actions like comprehensive nutritional and antenatal care education, efficient interventions devised for overcoming behavioral, perceptional, and socioeconomic constraints are suggested