Eureka! Institutional Repository

Aim: Nutrition is very important during pregnancy since it affects the development of healthy organs and tissues on both the fetus and the pregnant mother. The current research aimed to estimate the category of body weight and the coverage rate of the micronutrients of each participant. Methods: The diet of 152 pregnant women was recorded through questionnaires which included reclination of the previous 24 hours. The diet was representative of the ordinary/usual diet of each participant. The Minitab software was used for the statistical analysis, in order to find the means and the standard deviations of different columns. Results: The majority of women (52.6%) changed category of body weight during pregnancy, while the rest 47.4% remained in the same category. An increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity was noticed during pregnancy, 457% and 600% respectively. A decrease (50.7%) in the prevalence of normal body weight was also noticed. Supplements of folate, calcium and iron was given to the majority of the sample with 98.7%, 87.5% and 91.3% accordingly. Both inadequacy and overconsumption were noticed in particular micronutrients: Na, Ca, Fe, vitD, vitE, vitB12, vitA, vitB6, vitC, folate, cooper, Mg, phosphorus and dietary fiber. Conclusions: Overall, the increase of the overweight and the high use of micronutrients’ supplements during pregnancy were prevailed. Without making a proper use of the latter ones, the adequacy of micronutrients is not guaranteed.