Nutritional status of pregnant women examined at Thuy Nguyen General Hospital in 2022

Abstract

Nutrition constitutes a critical element for human health, physical strength, and cognitive development throughout the life cycle, particularly during the phases of pregnancy and lactation. During pregnancy, nutritional intake is intricately associated with birth weight, the occurrence of certain congenital malformations, and the brain development of the child. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of 240 pregnant women attending Thuy Nguyen General Hospital from February 1, 2022, to March 30, 2022. Data were collected through direct interviews and anthropometric measurements. The findings of the study revealed that prior to pregnancy, the proportion of women with normal nutritional status was 90.0%, while those categorized as underweight comprised 7.9%. The rates of overweight and obesity were recorded at 1.7% and 0.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the proportion of pregnant women at risk of delivering a low birth weight infant was 0.4% based on weight and 1.3% when assessed by height. Notably, 86.8% of pregnant women exhibited inappropriate weight gain during their pregnancy. Additionally, the proportion of pregnant women identified as being at nutritional risk according to the arm circumference index was 3.8%. It is imperative that interventions are instituted to enhance the nutritional and micronutrient status of women of childbearing age.  Keywords: Pregnant women, nutritional status, Thuy Nguyen.