Maternal dietary diversity during lactation and associated factors in Palghar district, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Dietary adequacy and diversity during the lactation period are necessary to ensure good health and nutrition among women and children. Behavioral interventions pertaining to health and nutrition counselling during pregnancy and lactation are critical for awareness about dietary diversity. The issue assumes salience for marginalized communities because of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated economic and societal disruptions. This paper assesses the dietary patterns among 400 lactating mothers in the tribal-dominated district of Palghar in Maharashtra, India in 2020. The study is based on primary data regarding consumption of 10 food groups among women across 10 food groups based on 24-hour recall period. The primary outcome variable was binary information regarding Minimum Dietary Diversity defined as consumption from at least 5 food groups. Econometric analysis based on multilevel models and item-response theory is applied to identify food groups that were most difficult to be received by mothers during the early and late lactation period. We find that the daily diet of lactating mothers in Palghar primarily consists of grains, white roots, tubers, and pulses. In contrast, the intake of dairy, eggs, and non-vegetarian food items is much lower. Only Half of the lactating women (56.5 percent; 95% CI: 37.4; 73.8) have a minimum diversified diet (MDD). The prevalence of lactating women with MDD was higher among households with higher income (73.1 percent; 95% CI: 45.2; 89.9) than those in lower income group (50.7 percent; 95% CI: 42.3; 58.9). Lactating Women (in early phase) who received health and nutrition counseling services are more likely (OR: 2.37; 95% CI: 0.90; 6.26) to consume a diversified diet. Food groups such as fruits, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and seeds were among the rare food items in daily diet. The dietary pattern lacking in fruits, nuts, and heme (iron) sources indicates more significant risks of micronutrient deficiencies. The findings call for improving dietary diversity among lactating mothers, particularly from the marginalized communities, and are driven by low consumption of dairy products or various fruits and vegetables. Among the different food items, the consumption of micronutrient-rich seeds and nuts is most difficult to be accessed by lactating mothers. Also, diet-centric counseling and informing lactating mothers of its benefits are necessary to increase dietary diversity for improving maternal and child nutrition.

Aleitamento materno: a importância da nutrição materna

“…Brazilian Journal of Health Review, Curitiba, v. 6, n. 6, p. 33201-33214, nov./dec., 2023 Para a sumarização dos quatorze estudos analisados e dos seus dados, e, consequentemente, para sua organização, fora construído o quadro para esquematizar por autoria, ano de publicação e resultados obtidos. Observando os autores e os principais achados de cada estudo analisado: (KOLETZKO et.al., 2019;RAPJAL et.al., 2021). Ademais, notícias falsas acerca da nutrição durante a gravidez e aleitamento são muito veiculadas por meio da internet, e nesse sentido o software Nutripedia funciona como uma plataforma de divulgação sobre o conhecimento nutricional (VERDUCI et.al., 2021).…”

“…Logo, o cenário em que o binômio mãe-feto está inserido influencia diretamente nas gerações futuras, além dos principais determinantes maternos como sua educação sobre aleitamento materno, idade, paridade e diversidade da alimentação (ADMASU et.al., 2022). na vida adulta (RAPJAL et.al., 2021). Mas também, outro fator importante é a nutrição prégestacional, já que o sobrepeso materno e o desenvolvimento de doenças como a pré-eclâmpsia está associada à obesidade e doenças crônicas não transmissíveis na vida adulta da criança (ROSSEM et.al., 2019).…”

Equity in Access to Nutrition through ICDS

“…Sukhatme (1978) pointed out that Indians get adequate protein from their diet but there is a huge shortage of calories, which is also observed at present time. A recent study conducted in the district of Palghar, India revealed that women had high levels of energy deficiency because of insufficient dietary energy intake (Rajpal et al, 2021). Children belonging to SC and ST groups take much fewer calories as compared to children from other social groups.…”

Calorie- and Protein-Deficient Diets Despite Adequate Dietary Diversity among Pregnant Women in a Low-Income Urban Area in Delhi, India

“…Moreover, consumption of non-vegetarian food and fresh fruits and vegetables was low, a finding consistent with the present study. [ 12 ] Similarly, another 2020 study conducted amongst mothers of under-5 children in an urban slum setting in west Delhi observed that only half of the mothers were able to achieve adequate dietary diversity. [ 13 ] The higher dietary diversity observed in this study could be due to the socioeconomic and cultural differences in the study populations, as also the potential difference in dietary habits of pregnant compared to lactating women.…”