ABSTRACT

This study examines the dietary habit and anthropometric status of adolescent pregnant women in rural community in Igbo Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu State. The study was a cross-sectional study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 422 respondents which were all adolescent pregnant women. Data on socio-demographic/economic characteristics, feeding habits, adherence to dietary supplements and anthropometric status of the respondents were collected using structured and validated questionnaire. The IBM SPSS version 23.0 computer programme was used to analyze the data. Significant relationship was judged at p ≤ 0.05. Data obtained were described using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Chi-square was used to analyze the relationship between dietary habits, dietary practices and anthropometric status of the pregnant women. Result from the study showed that more than half (66.6%) of the adolescent pregnant women were still single while most of them are Christians (67.9%) and earn less than N 19,000 in a month (84.1%). However, majority (80.5%) of the adolescents ate 3 times in a day while few (28.9%) skip their meals. Some (46.4%) of the respondents consume snacks while some (47%) mostly avoid meat. Majority of the respondents consume fruits (98.6%) and vegetables (83.4%) while most of them (61.8%) consume it more than 3 times in a week. Additionally, most (63.9%) of the respondents take dietary supplements and more than half (53.6%) of them mostly take only calcium supplements while few (26.6%) take multivitamin. The mid upper arm circumference of the adolescents indicated that some (36.6%) of them are at risk of low birth weight (LBW) while few (5.2%) are obese. Meanwhile, there is a significant relationship between respondents mid upper are circumference and intake of fruits and vegetables (p=0.00). There is need for a differentiated maternal and prenatal care to pregnant adolescents. Since these group of people pass through two phases of development simultaneously, adequate health measures are needed in order to prevent risks health and life, promote and maintain health and well-being of both mother and child.