FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION INTERVENTIONS IN PREGNANCY

Abstract

The study aims to understand the perception of pregnant women attended in Primary Health Care in Aracati/CE on aspects of food and nutrition in maternal and child health and to evaluate the effect of interventions in Food and Nutrition Education. Exploratory and descriptive study, of qualitative nature, consisting of 18 pregnant women in the Prenatal Care of the Basic Health Unit Abengruta II, between august and october 2019. There were 4 steps: 1) interview with the participants; 2) application of the initial focus group; 3) educational intervention/thematic workshops and 4) realization of the final focus group. The qualitative technique Discourse Analysis was used. It was observed that the majority were in the age group of 32 to 39 years old, had completed high school and earned up to 1 minimum wage. In addition, it was found that all were married or lived with a partner, more than half were in the second gestational trimester, approximately 66% started pregnancy with overweight or obesity and, at the time of the interview, 77,8% were classified as overweight or obesity. In the workshops, pregnant women consolidated their knowledge and felt safer in adhering to nutritional guidelines. Most had previous knowledge about food and nutrition and the workshops seem to encourage the adoption of healthy eating habits.