Dietary Practice and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Misha Woreda, South Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Proper food and good nutrition are essential for survival, physical growth, mental development, performance and productivity, and health and well-being. Pregnancy is a critical phase in a woman's life. The aim of this study is to assess the dietary practice and associated factors among pregnant women in Misha woreda, south Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Misha woreda, South Ethiopia, on pregnant women. Data were collected by using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data were entered in EpiData V-3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Binary logistic regression analysis was also employed to examine the association between dependent and independent variables. A P value of <0.05 was considered as the cutoff point to declare statistical significance. RESULT: Out of 618 pregnant women, almost all of them 618 interviewed with the response rate of 100%. The mean age of pregnant women was 27.31 years (±5.622). From total study participants, 54.1% of the respondents were followers of protestant religion and 80.2% of husband occupation were farmers and 78.7% pregnant women occupation were house wives. From the total participants, 43.6% had illness on the current pregnancy. Almost two third 66.2% of the pregnant women travel ≥ 1 hr to reach HF. Majority of the participants (62%) had moderate knowledge about dietary practice in pregnancy, and 29.5% practiced good dietary practice. Educational status (AOR = 4.07 [2.13, 9.18]), occupation (AOR = 5.32 [1.08, 13.95]), dietary knowledge (AOR = 7.2 [3.9, 17.09]), and food craving (AOR = 2.07 [1.41, 5.5]) were variables having a significant association with dietary practice. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of good dietary practice among pregnant women in Misha district was low when compared to other studies. According to the study result, educational status, occupation, dietary knowledge, and food craving were factors that affect dietary practice.