title: Prenatal nutrition among rural Bangladeshi pregnant women.
abstract: The expected outcome of pregnancy is a healthy mother with a healthy child. The single most important care which could prevent the negative outcomes of pregnancy is Antenatal Care (ANC). Proper and timely antenatal care can significantly reduce the risks of maternal mortality. In pregnancy, total cost is about 80,000 Kcal, and above normal energy requirements. To find out prenatal nutrition an exploratory study was carried out in seven villages of the Ward-2 of Jamtoil Union of Kamarkhand Upazila under Sirajganj District. Thirty pregnant women of different trimesters, gravida and parity had been studied employing the methods and techniques of "Ethnographic Field Work." Mean daily calorie consumption of the Key Informants (KIs) was 1480.49 Kcal without reference to their religious affiliation, family resource base, education, occupation, gravidity, parity and duration of pregnancy. This is indicated that the mean calorie intake of the Key Informants did not meet not only their prenatal nutritional need but also their requirement during pre-pregnancy period. It was observed that food intake was in no way different from that of the non-pregnant status. Antenatal care of rural inhabitants analyzed almost exclusively from biomedical perspectives, its cultural, socio-economic, gender, ecological and other relevant perspectives are mostly ignored. In order to have safe motherhood up through compliance of prenatal advice, nutritional one in particular, these factors should be taken into consideration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh, Bangladeshi. drmsbasher@gmail.com
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Basher
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kabir
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Miah
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kamal
mesh_terms: D001459:Bangladesh; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care