Assessment of nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices in pregnant women in university hospitals of Tehran

Pregnancy is the great physiological stress during of women’s life and cause the most importance change in their biological state. This physiological stress arising from fetus needs and thus increase pregnant women requirement to energy and nutrients in comparison with non-pregnant women. Nutritional continuous training caused increase of women knowledge by additional foods side, for poor mother, provide maternal and child health, so this survey has been done to determine knowledge rate, attitude and practices of pregnant women in Tehran, nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices in 315 pregnant women were assessed in 10 hospitals of Tehran. A structured questionnaire was used for this purpose. This research showed, 60% of women had low-level nutritional knowledge. In the attitude part of this research data showed 71.4% of women had positive attitude toward changes to improve the quality of their diet, and 87.6% of women had positive attitude toward dairy consumption eating during pregnancy. But 69.8% of women had negative attitude about Iron supplement. There was significant relation between level of education and attitude toward Iron supplement. Nutritional knowledge of pregnant women is weak so that the effects in their practice. Therefore nutritional training is necessary during pregnancy by physician.