THE EFFECTS OF A RESEARCHER-DESIGNED PERINATAL NUTRITION
PROGRAM ON DIETARY HABITS OF MOTHERS AND INFANT BIRTH-WEIGHT
IN A SAMPLE OF PREGNANT NIGERIAN FEMALES
Guzman-de-Manrique (1986) has noted that in Third World countries, pregnant females are at high risk for a number of factors that can jeopardize pregnancy. These factors include: poverty, lack of education and knowledge about pregnancy; lack of adequate prenatal care; poor obstetric history; diseases pre-dating and/or during pregnancy; maternal genetic factors; parity; short inter-pregnancy intervals; and inadequate dietary habits (nutrition).
Any or all of the listed factors can result in infant mortality and the delivery of low birth-weight infants (Eschleman, 1991). One very successful way in which health care providers have responded to this increased risk is through the development and implementation of perinatal nutrition education programs (Guzman-de-Manrique, 1986). This study involves the design and implementation of one such program.
The critical issue of this study is the relevance of nutritional education for decreasing Nigerian females' risk for negative pregnancy outcomes such as low infant birth-rate and infant mortality. Several studies have reported success in preventing these negative outcomes as a result of nutritional counseling and education. For example, Musagier (1987) has noted that one of the major health care risk faced by Third World females is the absence of nutritional information, and that nutritional education programs can do much to lower this risk.
According to Musagier, nutritional education programs not only supply Third World females with information about nutritional needs and proper dietary habits during pregnancy, they also elevate mothers' desire to receive early prenatal care. Since lack of adequate prenatal care is a strong contributor to negative pregnancy outcomes (Allgeier & Allgeier, 1985), it can be seen tha...