الفهرس 
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Abstract
Pregnancy is one of the most important events that constitute a powerful experience in women’s lives and their families. It is regarded as a “welcome event” for successful motherhood. woman’s body changes dramatically during pregnancy and these changes may lead to disequilibrium. Consequently, this period necessitates adequate continuous health supervision throughout the entire pregnancy.
Negligence of this critical period may have negative consequences on maternal and fetal outcomes which increase mortality rate. In order to reduce these negative consequences WHO had recommended several strategies one of them is antenatal care (ANC). Antenatal care includes several components; one of the most important components is health teaching about self-care practices especially dietary practices.
Dietary practices play a significant role in determining the long term health status of mother and growing fetus. where improper dietary practices of pregnant women may lead to increased rates of still birth, premature birth and low birth weight. So that, there is a strong need to balance these changes that occur during pregnancy with an adequate and nutritious diet.
Several studies had investigated pregnant women dietary practices all over the world and in Egypt. However, researches about Bedouin’s dietary practices are scarce.
Aim of the study:
The study aimed to identify dietary practices among Bedouin pregnant women attending Marsa-Matrouh Maternity Hospital, Egypt.
Materials and method:
Setting:
This study was conducted at out-patient clinic of Marsa-Matrouh maternity hospital, Egypt. where it is considered the only main setting for maternity care there.
Subjects:
A convenience sample of 320 pregnant women was recruited from the previously mentioned setting according to the following criteria.
- Bedouin pregnant women.
- Willing to participate in the study.
Data collection tools:
Three tools were utilized for data collection.
Tool I: Pregnant Women’s basic data structured interview schedule:
This tool was developed by the researcher and it entailed the following 3 parts:
Part one: Socio- demographic characteristics such as: age, level of education and occupation. In addition to her marital status, residence, family type and income.
Part two: Reproductive history such as: gravidity , parity, number of abortions, stillbirths, nature of previous pregnancies, labor and postpartum, number and sex of living children, as well as history of the present pregnancy.
Part three: Anthropometric measurements and biochemical assessment such as: weight (kg), height (cm), body mass index (BMI) and hemoglobin level.
Tool II: Pregnant Women’s Dietary knowledge structured interview
schedule
This tool was developed by the researcher and used to determine the pregnant women’s nutritional knowledge such as: importance of healthy nutrition during pregnancy as well as sources and importance of each nutrient like protein, fats, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals during pregnancy. In addition to sources of pregnant women’s nutritional knowledge. It contained 14 items. Subject’s response for each item was recorded as (1) for wrong answer / don’t know, (2) for correct but not complete answer and (3) for correct and complete answer. The total response for each subject ranged from 14-42. Accordingly:
- Score < 23 was poor knowledge.
- Score 23-<32 was fair knowledge.
- Score ≥ 32 was good knowledge.
Tool III: Pregnant Women’s Dietary practice structured interview schedule: It includes two parts:
Part one: It was developed by the researcher to assess subjects’ dietary practices during pregnancy. It includes four sections:
- Added foods & fluids.
- Increased foods & fluids.
- Decreased foods & fluids.
- Omitted foods & fluids.
Part two: A 24 hours dietary recall assessment sheet. This tool was originally developed by United States Department of agriculture (USDA) 2003 and (FAO/WHO2001, 81). It was adapted by the researcher and used to assess the quality & quantity of consumed food and fluids.
The main findings of the present study were:
A. Subjects’ demographic data:
• More than one-half (51.3%) of study subjects were in their twenties.
• Almost one-half (49.4%) of them were either illiterate /read & write and about one-third (30.9%) had primary education.
• Most of them were housewives (78.8%).
• Nearly two-third (68.4%) perceived their income as enough.
B. Subjects’ reproductive history:
• Only 10.3% of the study subjects were primigravida, compared to 26.6% primipara
• The majority (74.1%) of them had no history of abortion.
• About two-fifths (40.3%) of them had two living child compared to 28.1% with one living child
• More than one-half (59.6%) of them had history of anemia.
• The majority of them had no history of either natal (78.4%) or postnatal (93%) complications.
C. Subjects’ current pregnancy profile:
• As much as 70.3% of subjects had less than two years spacing period.
• One-half 50% of them were in their second trimester of pregnancy, and 81.3% of them had started their ante-natal visits during the first trimester. Slightly less than two-thirds (60.6%) of them had attended less than four ante-natal visits at the time of data collection.
• About two-thirds (65.6%) of them had anemia during their current pregnancy.
D. Nutritional history and anthropometric measurements :
• Almost all (99.1%) of study subjects had three daily meals.
• More than one-half (59.4%) of them had one daily snack.
• Close percentage (47.5%, 46.9%) of them were either overweight or obese.
• A pproximately two-thirds (67.5%) of them had moderate anemia.
E. Subject’s level of knowledge about nutrition :
• The majority (81.6%) of them had fair level of knowledge.
F. Subject’s dietary practices:
• About two-thirds (65.5%) of them added some foods for improving fetal bone formation and development. While 70.9% omitted some foods to decrease heart burn and digestive disorders. Almost one-half (49%) of them increased some foods for formation of the fetus. Nearly two-thirds (61.1%) of them decreased some foods to avoid increased salts in body.
• Approximately one-half (48.3%) of them added some fluids (especially molasses) to prevent anemia. The majority (73.2%) of them omitted some fluids (caffeinated beverages) in order to prevent anemia. More than one-half (59%) of them increased some fluids (e.g. milk) to increase calcium level. while 54.7% of them decreased some fluids (caffeinated beverages) in order to prevent anemia.
• Almost all (98.8, 99.7 %) of them had inadequate intake of iron and potassium, respectively compared to 88.8 % who had adequate intake of phosphorus.
• There is a statistically significant correlation between nutritional knowledge and dietary adequacy.
Conclusion:
Based on the findings of the present study, it could be concluded that the majority (81.6%) of the study subjects had fair level of knowledge about nutrition during pregnancy .Almost two-thirds (67.5%) of them had inadequate intake of most nutrients according to recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for pregnant women. Their level of knowledge about nutrition during pregnancy was positively correlated with their dietary adequacy.
Recommendations:
Based on the findings of the present study, the following recommendations are suggested:
• Continuous monitoring of pregnant women’s nutritional knowledge during each ante-natal visit.
• Screening for nutritional problems and gearing health education toward its correction.
• Upgrading ante-natal nurse’s knowledge and skills about nutrition during pregnancy through in-service training and workshops.
For further researches:
• Replication of the same study in different Egyptian zones especially rural and urban ones to compare and validate the present study findings.