Prevalence and factors associated with undernutrition among pregnant women in the catchment area of Rutongo District Hospital/ Northern Province-Rwanda 2023. Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Undernutrition is a worldwide crisis that pushes millions of mothers and their children to wait for the end of hunger and severe malnutrition. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and the factors associated with undernutrition among pregnant women. The specific one was to evaluate the magnitude of undernutrition among pregnant women in Rutongo District Hospital, and to identify the factors associated with undernutrition among pregnant women. To assess all objectives, a crosssectionalstudy was conducted. In thisstudy,a sample of 402 pregnant women who visited Rutongo District Hospital in its catchment area were used to determine the prevalence and the factors associated with undernutrition among pregnant women.

The study revealed that the malnutrition prevalence rate was at 20.1% among the pregnant women in Rutongo District Hospital. This prevalence rate is not far from the rate revealed by Rwanda DHS where the overall prevalence rate of malnutrition among pregnant women stands at 19%, as indicated. The factors that are mainly associated with malnutrition are the education level and abortions experience

Conclusion Considering the high prevalence of malnutrition among pregnant women in the catchment area of Rutongo District Hospital, malnutrition should be taken as priority among the district activities. A particular attention should be paid in the health and nutrition communication for the pregnant women. And for women who had abortion they should continue taking a balanced diet during pregnancy.