Socio-Demographic and Nutritional Status of Pregnant Mothers Attending Maternity Centre of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

This cross- sectional study was conducted among the women at Azimpur maternity center, Dhaka with the objective to find out socio-demographic and nutritional status. Total number of respondents was 201. The mean age of the respondents was found to be 23.4± 4.2 years and mean age at marriage was found to be 18.9±3.3 years. Out of 201, 97% of the respondents were housewives and most of them lived in urban areas (66.2%). Almost half of the respondents (50.2%) were educated up to secondary level. About 2/3rd of the total respondents (66.7%) received antenatal checkup (ANC) for more than 3 times.  Majority (87%) of the respondents maintained a gap of 3 or more years between two successive pregnancies. Nutritional status of the mothers in terms of body mass index (BMI) showed that more than half (51.7%) of the mothers were normal (BMI of 19.8-26 kg/m²), 46.3% were over weight (BMI >26 kg/m²) and only 2% were under weight (BMI <19.8-26 kg/m²). Majority (95%) of the mothers had mean arm circumference (MAC) >22cm.

Key words: Socio-demography; Maternity; ANC; BMI; MAC; Dhaka

<i>Journal of Food Science and Technology Nepal</i> Vol. 4, September, 2008, Page: 54-56