Nutritional behaviors status and its related factors among pregnant women in Tabriz: A cross-sectional study

Pregnancy is one of the most important and dangerous life periods of the mother and fetus and feeding in this term will affect the health of them. This study aims to determine the nutritional behaviors status and its related factors among pregnant women in Tabriz.
This cross-sectional descriptive study applied cluster sampling method to select 380 pregnant women referred to health centers in Tabriz in 2014. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire with items on the standard nutrition behavior questionnaire. Independent t-tent, ANOVA and liner regression analyses were performed to analyze the data in SPSS-20.
According to the results, Bread and cereals, meat and beans, fruits, and vegetables consumption were matched with recommended levels in 45.5%, 26.8%, and 44.7%, and 29.5% of the subjects, respectively. Milk and dairy consumption, also, was reported in 57.5 percent of pregnant women in satisfactory condition. The majority of those taking folic acid pills (90%), iron (82.9%) and multivitamin tablets (78.2%) were reported in satisfactory condition. Education level and body mass index were the most considerable predictors of the nutritional behavior among pregnant women (P Based on our findings, designing educational interventions with considering behavioral barriers is necessary to promote healthy nutritional behaviors in pregnant women.