Adherence to the 10 steps for a healthy diet in pregnant women in Southeast Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Nutritional guidelines in prenatal care can influence the pregnant woman's eating behavior, reducing the risks for the mother-baby binomial. Objective: To analyze adherence to the 10 steps for healthy eating during pregnancy and its association with maternal and socioeconomic factors in pregnant women in Espírito Santo, Brazil. Methods: Data were obtained through an electronic questionnaire widely publicized on social networks. Socioeconomic, prenatal and eating behavior data were collected from 368 participants. The 10 Steps to Healthy Eating during pregnancy, adapted from the Brazilian Ministry of Health, using the Praise-Guide-Recommend System (EOR) were used as evaluation criteria. Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to analyze differences between proportions. The binary logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between independent variables and steps towards healthy eating. A significance level of 5% and a confidence interval of 95% were adopted. Results: Most pregnant women reported adherence of 3 to 5 steps (78.5%), fitting into the O-Orientation category. It was observed that receiving nutritional guidance during prenatal care increased adherence in step 4 (OR: 1.99; 95%CI: 1.26-3.15), in step 5 (OR: 2.02; 95%CI: 1 .26-3.24) and step 9 (OR: 1.66; 95%CI: 1.66-2.58). Conclusion: The results suggest the need to strengthen prenatal actions, mainly related to guidelines on encouraging healthy and adequate eating habits.