Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status of Pregnant Women Attending Public Hospitals in Dire Dawa City Administration, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: Dietary diversity refers to the balanced diet consumed by a person to meet the nutritional requirement. During pregnancy, woman’s diet diversification is highly important for the growth and development of the fetus in addition to her own requirements. In order to better inform the health care system about maternal nutritional requirements, it is imperative to understand the association between dietary diversity and maternal nutritional status.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the association between the dietary diversity and the nutritional status of the pregnant women in Dire Dawa City Administration, Eastern Ethiopia.Methods: A facility based cross sectional study was done in two public hospitals in Dire Dawa City Council. Data were collected from 387 pregnant women who were selected by a systematic random sampling among those who attended antenatal care service in two public hospitals of Dire Dawa City Administration. Data on a 24-hour dietary diversity recall were collected using a structured questionnaire and mid-upper arm circumference of the left arm was measured to determine the nutritional status of the women. Data were entered into Epi-data and analyzed using SPSS Version 22. Logistic regression was used to determine the significant factors associated with the nutritional status.Results: The study revealed that 18.2% (95%CI 14.1, 22.0) of the pregnant women were undernourished and 57% (95%CI, 51.0, and 60.1) had poor dietary diversity. A high dietary diversity was marginally associated with normal nutritional status [(AOR= 2.4; 95% CI, (1.06-5.3)]. The women with low monthly income were in low nutritional status [AOR=0.48; 95% CI, (0.24-0.95)]. The unmarried study subjects were undernourished [(AOR=3.54; 95% CI, (1.2-14.8)].Conclusion: This study revealed that one fifth of the pregnant women were undernourished and more than half had poor dietary diversity. The association between dietary diversity and the nutritional status of the pregnant women was marginal whereas their income had strong relationship with the status. Improving the dietary diversity of the women during pregnancy may improve their nutritional status.