By Ubani Nnenna Grace
Pregnant and lactating women are nutritionally, the most vulnerable group especially in developing regions of the world. This is because of repeated pregnancies and lactation which are aggravated by food taboos and poor maternal stress. The poor nutrition experienced by these women results to “maternal depletion syndrome”, the most common of which is protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). This study therefore had the following key objectives: (i) to assess the nutritional status of pregnant mothers attending antenatal clinic at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku, Ozalla, Enugu (ii) to assess the iron status of the mothers and (iii) determine factors that are associated with iron deficiency in pregnant mothers. A retrospective and prospective review of pregnant mothers in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu was carried out to assess their nutritional status using anthropometry, dietary, clinical/physical and biochemical methods. The mothers were enrolled as they came within a period of six months. A total of 405 mothers were enrolled, only those who met the inclusion criteria were selected. Those who were included were in their first or second trimesters, consistent in their visits and were able to do prescribed tests. A total of 263 mothers were qualified to be selected.