Effectiveness of Dietary Intervention-Based Short Message Service on Pregnant Adolescent Female's Knowledge and Practice Regarding Iron Deficiency Anemia

Pregnancy outcomes are greatly influenced by nutrition, which is widely acknowledged as an essential element of both a successful and healthy pregnancy as well as the long-term health of the offspring. Anemia from iron deficiency during pregnancy is a serious health issue. Because the fetus and mother's need for iron increases throughout pregnancy and reaches its peak at the end, all pregnant women are at risk of developing anemia . Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of dietary intervention-based short message service on pregnant adolescent females' Knowledge and practice regarding iron deficiency anemia . Subjects and method: Design: A quasi-experimental research design was used to achieve the aim of this study. Setting: The study was applied in antenatal outpatient clinics at Mansoura University Hospitals. Subjects : A purposive sample of 200 pregnant adolescent females was involved in the study. Three Tools were used for data collection 1) a structured interviewing questionnaire, 2) a pregnant adolescent female's reported practices tool (pre and post-test format);, and 3) a hemoglobin level assessment sheet (post-test format). Results : A statistically significant difference and improvement were detected between pregnant adolescent females' level of knowledge and practice regarding iron deficiency anemia and Hemoglobin (Hb) value after dietary intervention-based short message service. The hemoglobin level mean was increased among the studied pregnant adolescent females after dietary intervention-based short message service . Also, there was a highly significant correlation between demographic characteristics and pregnant adolescent female's level of knowledge and practice in pre-and post-dietary intervention based short message service mainly in the items of gender, and educational qualification. There was a highly significant correlation between demographic characteristics and pregnant adolescent females' level of knowledge in pre-and dietary intervention-based short message service with pregnant adolescent female's age. Conclusion : Dietary intervention-based short message service intervention has positive effects on improving pregnant adolescent females' level of knowledge and practice. Recommendation : Continuous training programs are recommended in various maternity healthcare settings to improve pregnant adolescent female's knowledge and practices which will reflect on their health and offspring's long-term health. Educational booklets should be provided about foods with a high concentration of iron to reduce iron deficiency anemia among pregnant adolescent females.