Nutrition Education and Counseling Provided by Nutritionist and Midwife and its Effects on Maternal Weight Gain in Pregnancy and Child Growth

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of education provided by Nutritionist and midwife on weight gain in pregnant women and child growth.
This was a semi trial survey conducted in Ardabil. 510 pregnant women and 305 malnutruent children referring to Ardabil health centers were selected through convenience sampling method and were randomly allocated to the experiment groups. Education program performed by nutritionist in case group and the control group were received education by midwives in the same center. Data analyzed using SPSS and EPI INFO software.
Results demonstrated that low weight gain before study in experiment group was 49.8% and after study decrease to 5.2% and in control group was 58.4% decreased to 37.5% (p Nutrition education provided by a Nutritionist had more effective role in improving maternal weight gain compared with Nutrition education provided by midwife. Effectiveness of Nutrition counseling to improvement of growth retardation in children under 5 years was poor in both groups. Nutritionist Consultation alone is insufficient to enhance the nutritional status of children under 5.