Relations between knowledge and attitude toward weight gain during pregnancy and actual weight gain of pregnant women in Can Tho, 2004
- Author:
Tran Thi Trung Chien
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Weight gain, pregnancy
- MeSH:
Pregnant Women;
Knowledge;
Weight Gain
- From:Journal of Practical Medicine
2005;0(6):72-75
- CountryViet Nam
- Language:Vietnamese
-
Abstract:
A cross-sectional study on knowledge and attitude toward weight gain was carried out on 659 pregnant women to identify factors associated with actual weight gain of pregnant women. The results showed that 36.6% of the women had a weight gain in the last trimester below 4kg, in which 19% below 3kg. While only 55.4% pregnant women agreed the recommended weight gain of 10-12kg during pregnancy, majority of pregnant women (85.1%) had positive attitude toward eating a well diet if it meant to have a baby with sufficient weight at birth. There was a statistically significant relationship between weight gain and attitude toward eating a well diet in the last trimester (p=0.009). However, less than half of women, 17.5% and 44.5% had correct knowledge about how much weight a mother should gain during pregnancy and in the last trimester, respectively. Knowledge of the women on the relationship between weight gain and birth weight of babies related significantly with actual weight gain (p<0.05). The results suggested that knowledge and attitude favoring wealthy babies may relate to higher maternal weight gains during pregnancy.
