Eating Habits, Nutritional Status in Pregnant Women and Weight of Newborns, La Libertad - Peru

Objective: To determine the relationship between eating habits (EH) and nutritional status (NS) of pregnant women in the third trimester and the weight of their newborns (NB) attended at the C.S. Chugay in Sánchez Carrión, La Libertad, Peru, 2017. Material and methods: Quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional and non-experimental study. The population consisted of a sample of 30 pregnant women and their newborns. The data were collected during delivery and puerperium, applying instruments such as the research form (Alpha coefficient: 0.74) that identified the indicators (considering pre-gestational BMI, hemoglobin level and gestational weight gain in the third trimester), and the weight of the newborn. In addition, the questionnaire that assessed EH was used (Coefficient Alpha: 0.86). Kendall's Tau-b coefficient and the Chi-square test were used to determine the relationship between the ordinal variables. Results: 76.7% and 83.4% of the pregnant women had inadequate NS and EH, respectively; of the latter, 26.7% had low-birth weight newborns. Additionally, 50% had only primary school education and 70% were between 18 and 29 years old. Conclusions: There is no relationship between the variables EH and NS (Kendall's Tau-b coefficient = -0.035', p=1,) nor EH with birth weight of their newborns (Kendall's Tau-b coefficient = 0.067, p=1). It is therefore necessary to promote preventive promotional activities that encourage improved eating habits and nutritional status during pregnancy, as they play a determining role in health, which ensures the future quality of life of the mother and the NB.