Minimum Dietary Diversity and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Living in Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites, Southern Ethiopia, 2022.

Background: Worldwide 1.2 billion women suffer from micronutrient deficiency. Feeding diversified foods during pregnancy prevents pregnancy complications such as severe anemia, low birth weight, and birth defects. However, the status of minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among pregnant women were not explored in the study area; therefore, this study was conducted at the Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (AMHDSS).

Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 19, 2021, to October 30, 2022, on randomly selected 635 pregnant women. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews, and measurements of mid-upper arm circumference using a tablet; then exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics of the study participants and presented by text, figures, and tables. Binary logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with pregnant women MDD-W. Independent variables with a P-value < .05 were considered as associated factors.

Findings: 98.2% of the pregnant women responded to this survey, more than half, (53.3%) of them achieved MDD-W, and 24.2% of the pregnant women were undernourished. The MDD-W was associated with household food security (AOR = 0.55, CI: .36, .83), meal frequency, (AOR = 1.62, CI: 1.1, 2.5), house ownership (AOR = 0.52, CI: .29, .9), ownership of banana farms (AOR = 1.7, CI: 1.02, 2.8), antenatal follow-up (ANC) (AOR = 1.9, CI: 1.1, 3.3), and occupational status (AOR = 6, CI: 2.1, 17.6).

Conclusion: The MDD-W outcome in this study was higher than that in other studies. The MDD-W is associated with, ANC follow-up, meal frequency, living in a food-secured household, ownership of a house, and pregnant women's merchant occupation. For optimal pregnancy outcomes; the AMHDSS and stakeholders might need to work in collaboration to increase ANC coverage and meal frequency for pregnant women. In addition, micronutrient supplementation, and increasing the availability/production capacity of food-insecure households are expected.