Eureka! Institutional Repository

Introduction: The period of pregnancy is very important for the expectant mother and the fetus and the smooth progress of pregnancy is directly influenced by the mother's eating habits both before and during pregnancy. Adequate nutrition during pregnancy not only supports the physical health of the mother and the developing fetus, but also influences their long-term health outcomes. Pre-conception obesity is a factor, that has been greatly associated with many complications that can occur during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, increased blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, premature birth and congenital abnormalities. Because during pregnancy BMI is a common indicatorin detecting obesity. However in pregnancy many changes in human body can occur, thereby BMI indicator doesn’t seem to be a valid one for testing obesity. For this reason it is far more effective to use arm and neck circumference instead. These indicators can provide you with precise information about potential obesity and overweight issues during pregnancy. In addition to obesity, maternal undernutrition can have negative consequences on the health of the mother and the fetus, as it is a key factor that can lead to perinatal morbidity/mortality. Many pregnant women are micronutrient deficient as they do not consume sufficient amounts of fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common micronutrient deficiency is iron deficiency, with 40% of pregnant women worldwide experiencing anaemia, compared to 27% in Europe. This is why iron intake during pregnancy is important. Purpose: The present study is an observational study using a questionnaire. The purpose of the study is to examine the quality of nutrition of pregnant women in Greece, who follow prenatal check-ups, to identify both their level of knowledge about nutrition issues related to pregnancy and nutritional risk factors. Methodology: Data collection was performed in the outpatient clinic of the 2nd Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of Hippocrates General Hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece, 75 pregnant women participated in the study. The questionnaire used included the FIGO nutrition checklist in order to observe the quality of the pregnant women's diet and to identify nutritional risks. The FIGO diet quality score (0 to 6 points) was calculated, with those pregnant women with a score >3 having better diet quality and those with a score <3 having poor diet quality, and the FIGO nutrition risk score (NRS) (0 to 9 points), with those with a score ≥5 having low nutrition risk and those with a score <5 having high nutrition risk. Results: Based on the FIGO nutrition checklist, the mean score for diet quality is 4 (±1) with 90.7% of women answering negatively to at least one question, while for risk factors, the mean score is 6 (±1), with 98.7% of pregnant women who participated having at least one nutritional risk. Women who answered correctly to the knowledge questions about nutrition issues also had better diet quality and fewer nutritional risks. A higher proportion of pregnant women were taking iron and vitamin D supplements. An association was found between neck circumference and gestational diabetes mellitus, with 46.6% of pregnant women with a neck circumference >34 cm having DM. Conclusions: There is room for improvement in the diet quality of pregnant women in Greece and reducing nutritional risk should be a goal. Nutrition is a basic requirement for a smooth pregnancy. Women both before and during pregnancy should focus on eating a variety of foods.