134 International Journal of Medicine and Public Health | Jul-Sep 2013 | Vol 3 | Issue 3 Urban poor women do not increase their diet during pregnancy: A study from an urban resettlement colony in Delhi, India Background: The rate of decline in maternal and infant mortality in India is not fast enough to achieve Millennium Development Goals. Poor nutrition, during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. However, due to various factors, pregnant women do not enhance the quality or quantity of diet during pregnancy. Aims: This study was conducted to find whether increase in dietary intake occurs in pregnancy and to understand the factors influencing the dietary intake during pregnancy in an urban resettlement colony in Delhi. Materials and Methods: Community based case control was conducted among 50 pregnant women and 50 matched controls to study the change in dietary intake during pregnancy and its determinants. In-depth interview were conducted among pregnant women to understand the factors influencing the dietary intake. Results: No significant difference in the intake of energy, protein, iron, calcium, protein, folic acid and Vitamin C between pregnant and non pregnant women. The factors like age, family type, history of previous pregnancy and socio economic status were not associated with increase in dietary intake in pregnancy. In-depth interview shows that even though pregnant women knew that dietary intake should increase in pregnancy, they fail to put this into practice. Conclusions: The pregnant women in the urban resettlement colony do not eat differently from their non pregnant counterpart. Key words: Dietary intake, India, pregnant women, urban Original Article INTRODUCTION Child and maternal mortality is global health priority as enunciated by Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 and 5. The target is to reduce the under five mortality by two third and maternal mortality by three fourths in each country as compared to 1990. Though child and maternal mortality is declining world over, the rate of decline is not enough to achieve the target by 2015. [1,2] India has made substantial progress in reducing child and maternal mortality. While the under 5 mortality rate has fallen from 112 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 66 per 1000 live births, maternal mortality ratio has fallen from 437 per 100,000 live births in 1992 to 212 per 100,000 live births in 2009 but it is still far from achieving the MDG 4 and 5. [3] There is also gross regional variability in childhood and maternal morbidity and mortality rates. [4] Energy and micro-nutrient deficiency in pregnancy can lead to intra uterine-growth retardation, low birth weight, preterm delivery, birth defects, reduced physical and mental potential of the child and neonatal death. [5] Also, poor maternal nutritional would lead to anemia in pregnancy which is recognized as an important cause of maternal mortality in India. [6] As per Indian Council of Medical Research recommendation, a pregnant woman should increase the energy intake by 350 K cal and protein intake by 23gm in addition to the normal recommended intake. [7] Several studies, have been carried out in India to find the nutrient deficit in the pregnant women. [8-14] These studies compared the observed intake in pregnancy with the recommended intake and reported insufficient nutrient intake during pregnancy. However, the studies exploring increase in dietary intake during pregnancy as compared with non pregnant state are limited. Also, to plan effective nutrition intervention strategy, it is required to understand the behaviour pattern of pregnant women in regard to nutrition. Therefore, this study was planned to study the increase in dietary intake and its determinants in pregnant women and to understand the factors influencing the dietary intake during pregnancy. Abstract Rakesh Kumar, O. P. Aslesh 1 , Anjali 2 , Anushka Kapoor 2 , Divya Sanan 2 , Esha Wadhwa 2 , Neha Agarwal 2 Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi, 1 Department of Community Medicine, Academy of Medical Sciences, Pariyaram, Kerala, 2 Food and Nutrition, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, India Address for the Correspondence: Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Senior Programme Officer, Indian Coalition for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorder (ICCIDD), Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT Block, AIIMS, New Delhi - 110 029, India. E-mail: dr.rakesh3105@gmail.com Access this article online Website: www.ijmedph.org DOI: 10.4103/2230-8598.118944 Quick response code: