NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE TO HEALTHIER EATING AND DIETARY-INTAKE IN PREGNANT COMPARED TO NONPREGNANT WOMEN

The nutrition knowledge, attitudes and dietary behaviour of a group of women in early pregnancy and a group of non-pregnant women were compa red to ascertain the impact of pregnancy on diet. The main results ind icate that pregnant women do eat differently from non-pregnant women, in particular intakes of zinc and vitamin C, and the nutrient density of protein and sodium were higher and intakes of alcohol lower in the pregnancy group compared to the non-pregnant group. The group of pregn ant women also tended to consume more milk and fruit and less chocolat e, cakes and pastries compared to non-pregnant women. However, the dif ferences in dietary behaviour between the two groups could not be acco unted for by nutrition knowledge (the same in both groups). Higher sco res for beliefs about 'healthier eating' and subjective norm were foun d in the early pregnancy group which might account for some of the obs erved differences between the groups. In addition, it is concluded tha t 'historicity' or a basic 'knowledge' of which foods to consume is pr evalent in early pregnancy.