title: Nutritional knowledge as a determinant of vitamin and mineral supplementation during pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pregnancy is a critical period for both woman and baby from a nutritional perspective. Nutritional education is considered an important tool for promoting a healthy lifestyle, but has not been studied as a determinant for maternal use of supplements during pregnancy, especially in Romania, where evidence about pregnancy and nutrition is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between nutritional knowledge and the use of folic acid, iron and multivitamin supplements during pregnancy and to assess the influence of socio-demographic factors and prenatal care.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional study on a sample of 400 pregnant women admitted to the Cuza-Vodă Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinical Hospital in Iaşi, Romania, during August-September 2010. We collected self-reported data regarding socio-demographic characteristics, number of prenatal check-ups and the use of folic acid, iron and multivitamin supplements during pregnancy. We assessed nutritional knowledge using a standardized questionnaire divided into three sections: general nutritional recommendations for pregnant women; the roles of nutrients; and sources of nutrients. We used logistic regression to analyse the associations between these factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of the use of supplements during pregnancy was 48% for folic acid, 45.3% for iron and 68% for multivitamins. Above-average nutritional knowledge was independently associated with the use of folic acid (aOR, 4.7; 95% CI, 1.6-13.8), iron (aOR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.2-5.7) and multivitamins (aOR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.2-6.8). The use of folic acid was independently associated with a higher level of formal education (aOR, 5.2; 95% CI, 2.1-12.8) and an early start in prenatal care (aOR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.0-11.1). Women with a higher education (aOR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.9), more than 10 prenatal visits (aOR, 7.2; 95% CI, 3.4-15.0) and those who received advice on breastfeeding (aOR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5) were more likely to use iron during pregnancy. Similar results were found when analysing the contributing factors for the use of multivitamins: more than 12 years of schooling (aOR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.4-7.9) and appropriate prenatal care (aOR, 9.4; 95% CI, 4.5-19.5).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Level of nutritional knowledge has a strong independent association with the use of supplements during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Gr, T, Popa", Iaşi, România. roxyal04@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alina D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Popa
authors.forename: Otilia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Niţă
authors.forename: Lidia I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Graur Arhire
authors.forename: Raluca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.forename: Gina E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Botnariu
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mihalache
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graur
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012383:Romania; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D005492:Folic Acid; D007501:Iron