Pregnant Women Diet Quality and Its Sociodemographic Determinants in Southwestern Bangladesh

Background:Diet diversity of pregnant women is associated with nutrition sufficiency, micronutrient adequacy, and pregnancy outcomes. However, the sociodemographic determinants of diet diversity among pregnant women in low-income countries are not well studied.Objective:The analysis was undertaken to study the determinants of high dietary diversity and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods by pregnant women from rural Bangladesh.Methods:Pregnant women (508) were randomly selected from southwestern Bangladesh and interviewed to collect data about diet and sociodemographic characteristics. A 24-hour recall was used to collect information about diet. Diet diversity score was calculated for 9 major food groups. All analyses were conducted using STATA SE 12.Result:The overall mean diet diversity score was low at 4.28 and was significantly high among pregnant women who have higher educational achievement, whose husbands’ occupation was business, who live in households of 4 or more family members, and who were...