The impacts of okra consumption on the nutritional status of pregnant women, west Ethiopia

Abstract

AbstractFood‐insecurity and poor‐quality diets remain a challenge for pregnant women. Consumption of okra has a great impact on improving the nutritional status of pregnant women. Okra plays a critical role in the prevention of malnutrition among pregnant women living in resource‐limited settings. The evidence is scarce on the impacts of okra on mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurement of pregnant women. A community‐based cross‐sectional study was employed among randomly selected 224 pregnant women from June 1 to July 30, 2020. An interviewer‐administered questionnaire was used. The MUAC was measured by using an adult MUAC measuring tape. Data were entered into Epi‐data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis by linear regression. The statistical significance of variables was declared at a p‐value of .05, and unstandardized beta (β) coefficients along with a 95% confidence interval were computed. The proportion of pregnant women with low MUAC (≤22 cm) was 42.4%. In the multivariable linear regression model, hemoglobin concentration (β = 0.346, [95% CI: 0.153, 0.539], p = .001), food insecurity (β = −0.887, (95% CI: −1.441, −0.334), p = .002), daily consumption of okra (β = 1.269, [95% CI: 0.583, 1.956], p ≤ .001), and women working in NGO (β = 0.443, [95% CI: 0.256, 0.630], p ≤ .001) were significant variables. The prevalence of malnutrition among pregnant women (MUAC ≤ 22 cm) was 42.4%. Therefore, behavioral change communication interventions to promote okra consumption on regular basis were recommended.