Correlates between Micronutrient Intake of Pregnant Women and Birth Weight of Infants from Central India

Abstract

This study investigated the micronutrient status of 50 pregnant women attending Government Medical College and Hospital (GMH) and Private Maternity Clinics (PMC) from Central India and correlated its effect to the pregnancy outcome. Socioeconomic data, pregnancy related information, 24 hour dietary recall and information regarding the frequency of consumption of iron, folic acid, carotene and vitamin B12 rich foods was collected. Results indicated a low positive correlation between the mean dietary iron (r = 0.012, r = 0.158, p<.05) of the subjects and folic acid intake (r = 0.175, r = 0.022 p<.05) of the subjects and respective mean birth weights of infants among both GMH and PMC groups. Carotene had a low positive correlation (r = 0.021 p<.05,) with birth weight among the GMH subjects but low negative correlation (r = 0.227, p<.05) amongst the PMC group. Vitamin B12 intake and mean birth weight in the PMC group subjects showed a low positive correlation (r = 0.364, p<.05) while a low positive correlation ( r = 0.021 p<.05,) was observed in the GMH group. Multivariate analysis reflected an interrelationship between the socioeconomic status, pregnancy associated and dietary factors. The study concluded that a positive relation exists between the micronutrient intake of pregnant women and the birth weight of the infant.