Dietary Pattern and Anemic Status of Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in a Mission Hospital in Benin City Edo State Nigeria

Background: Nutritional anemia is the most common type of anemia worldwide, and it can be caused by iron, folic acid and vitamin C deficiencies. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the dietary intake pattern and anemic status of pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a mission Hospital in Benin City. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used for this study among 381 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a mission hospital in Benin City selected using a systematic sampling technique. A pre-tested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics and dietary pattern of the respondents. Anemia was assessed using pack cell volume (haematocrit). Data was analyzed using IBSM SPSS version 20.0 and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. Results: One hundred and forty seven (38.6%) of the respondents had medium dietary diversity, while 234 (61.4%) of them had high dietary diversity score. No case of low dietary diversity score was reported. The food groups most frequently consumed were oils [347(91.1%)] and cereals [245(64.3%)] while the least frequently consumed food groups were organ meat [20(5.2%)], vitamin A rich fruits [128(33.6%)], egg [103(27.0%)], legumes [102(26.8%)] and dark green leafy vegetables [51(13.4%)]. One hundred and twenty (33.9%) respondents were anemic. There was no statistical association between dietary diversity score and anemic status (p= 1.000). Conclusion: The study revealed the need to strengthen interventions focusing on improving the consumption of micronutrient rich food during pregnancy.