A Study of Nutritional Status of Saudi Pregnant Women Comparing with Non Saudi in

Pregnant women have been widely recognized as a vulnerable group from health point of view. They need more food than a normal person for the proper nourishment of the growing fetus. The field of nutrition of the pregnant women, especially in general hospitals, has been sadly. Methods: Against this backdrop, our study was carried out among 104 pregnant women Saudi and nonSaudi (86, 18, respectively) with second and third trimester attends to Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic at (KAUH). The goal of this study was to investigate the nutrient intake of pregnant woman and find factors affecting pregnancy outcomes such as weight gain, gestational age and prevalence of anemia as a compare between Saudi and non Saudi pregnant women. A pre-tested structured interview schedule was used for the collection of general information. Twenty four hours recall method of diet was applied for the collection of dietary information. Hemoglobin and Hematocrit levels collected from a doctor’s report for observing the anemic condition. Results: It was found that the energy intake was significantly different between Saudi and non-Saudi pregnant women at (p< 0.05). Also for protein, fat, and carbohydrate were significant difference between the two groups at (p<0.05). Regard to the differentiation of vitamin A, niacin and folat intake was highly significant at (p<0.001) between the two groups. However, the difference in vitamin D, riboflavin intake was highly significant at (p<0.01) while for vitamin C and thiamin intake were significant at (p< 0.05) between Saudi and non-Saudi Pregnant women. Pregnant women in their second and third trimester (Saudi and non-Saudi pregnant women) had a low dietary intake for most nutrients especially for nutrient crucial during pregnancy such as iron, folate, calcium, selenium, magnesium, and niacin; the difference between Saudi pregnant and non-Saudi pregnant women were highly significant. It was observed that mean daily dietary intake of iron and folic acid for the anemic pregnant were significantly lower than those of non anemic pregnant women. Also we observed that as trimester increase, the hemoglobin and hematocrit levels increases perhaps because a substantial proportion of pregnant women consumed iron and folic acid tablets or syrups regularly. Conclusion: This study highlights the need to develop programs to improve the dietary intake of non Saudi pregnant women which living in Kingdom Saudi Arabia. It is concluded from the findings of this study that pregnant women need to increase their intake of food rich in iron, folate, niacin, protein and energy. The results suggest that pregnant women need guidance in selecting nutrient dense food. The upraise for nutrition awareness programs among pregnant women is recommended. More emphasis should be given to the cheap, local, commonly consumed food that are nutrient rich so that these women are assisted in making the best use of their economic resources to improve their diet. [Thaana A. El -kholy, Dina Qahwaji, and Sahar A. Antar. A Study of Nutritional Status of Saudi Pregnant Women Comparing with Non Saudi in King Abdul Aziz University Hospital in Jeddah. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):3534-3543]. (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 524