Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic at China - Uganda Friendship Hospital Naguru, Kampala.

Abstract

It is important for humans to have a balanced amount of nutrients to get a properly functioning body system. Nutrition is the supply of materials food and a vital support required by all organisms for the development and health throughout their life span. The general objective of the study is to obtain information concerning about the what knowledge and practices in pregnant women we learned from attending antenatal clinic at China - Uganda Friendship Hospital to improve provision of quality nutritional education among pregnant women. The objectives for following the procedures: To assess the pregnant women‟s level of knowledge on nutrition during antenatal clinic; to explore the attitude of pregnant women‟s regarding nutrition while attending Antenatal Clinic. Across-sectional study design was used to determine nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at China-Uganda friendship Hospital in Naguru, Kampala. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used. The researcher chose this study design because data on variables is collected once; multiple outcomes and exposures can be studied, well for descriptive analysis. The study population included all pregnant mothers who attend antenatal clinic in China- Uganda Friendship Hospital- Naguru Kampala. This category of women (pregnant) is selected because good nutrition and antenatal services are so vital among expectant women for the development of the unborn baby. Systematic sampling procedure was used to obtain the pregnant women from Uganda Friendship Hospital, this was possible with the help of research assistants and the hospital administrators and in each of the selected pregnant woman, those adults who fulfill the inclusion criteria was selected and interviewed Findings were based on the justification of the importance placed on dietary feeding during pregnancy. Respondents were asked to ascertain their stand in whether they support the role played by their governments towards ensuring water diplomacy. The importance of dietary feeding during pregnancy matters much in as far as pregnancy in women is concerned. Findings show that most of the respondents (50.0%) agreed that they value dietary feeding during their pregnancy, though (7.0%) did not respond. This showed that dietary feeding is given a priority in the life of a pregnant woman.