gms | German Medical Science

Background: An appropriate and high-quality diet during pregnancy plays a key role in the short-term and long-term health of mother and child, but this is often not implemented adequately [1]. Nutritional knowledge is seen as a determinant of nutritional behavior, which acts as resource or restriction in the implementation of health-conscious nutrition [2]. Nutritional knowledge goes beyond the classic notion of mere facts and includes knowledge about relationships and the ability to assess nutritional information. A central assumption of the present study is that nutritional behavior in pregnancy is also influenced by sociodemographic and psychological factors (health cognitions). According to the assumptions of HAPA-modelI [3], a health-conscious diet depends on classifying their importance, their personal assessment of risks and the benefits of behaviour change.

Aim/research question: This study investigated nutrition knowledge of pregnant women and its connection to personal expectations. Special focus was given to risk perception and outcome expectancies.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 pregnant women in Münster/Germany. Systematic sampling should ensure a wide range of responses; level of education and parity were matched. The transcripts were analysed according to qualitative content analysis by Kuckartz [4].

Results: The study revealed that all women had good basic knowledge about nutritional requirements during pregnancy. Mainly low-educated women underestimated their personal risks of obesity and weight gain, likewise a lack of competence to assess nutritional quality and food safety was found. Several women were not aware of the increased nutrient requirements and the effects of nutrient deficiency. Expected benefits of the child's health showed positive effects on motivation and helped to put knowledge into practice.

Relevance: The integration of psychological findings of the HAPA model into counseling practice seems to be a promising approach to develop a theory-based, pregnancy-focused nutritional advice for pregnant women and can help to improve nutritional practices of pregnant women.

Recommendation: In addition to nutritional instructions, healthcare professionals should sensitize pregnant women to effects of nutrition on pregnancy outcome and child’s health. In order to motivate women to a healthy diet, nutritional recommendations should not be formulated too general, but personally expected benefits for their baby and pregnancy outcome should be included.

Ethical criteria and conflict of interests: The research was submitted to an ethics committee. It was financed from own resources. There is no conflict of interest.