Saadia Khan, Ibad Ali, Sajjad Hussain, Noor-ul Ain, Reema Arshad, Asad Abbas.
Pattern of Dietary Restriction in Pregnancy and Lactation in Mothers of Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition.
Pak Paed J Jan ;45(3):332-6.

Objective: To identify the misconceptions related to food during pregnancy and lactation in mothers of Severe Acute Malnutrition children. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Nutritional Rehabilitation and Stabilization Centre, Children Hospital & Institute of Child Health, Multan from 1st June 2018 to 1st June 2019. Material and Methods: Total 230 cases were enrolled by simple random sampling. All were mothers of Severe Acute Malnutrition children at Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre of Children Hospital & Institute of Child Health, Multan. A questionnaire was deigned earlier and used to collect data. Results: In this study 80% females had myths related to restrictions of food. Most of the nutritional deficiencies in babies during neonatal and infancy period are due to mother`s avoidance of specific foods containing essential nutrients for both baby and herself. 40% children of the mothers enrolled were categorized as Medium Acute Malnutrition and 40% were diagnosed as Severe Acute Malnutrition. Conclusion: It is concluded the majority of females believed in myths and misconceptions regarding various nutrient rich foods during pregnancy and lactation, thus they avoid the intake of these foods. This results in nutritional deficiencies in both the mother and the fetus. As beginning of a healthy life for a newborn depends on maternal diet, the nutrient intake during first golden 1000 days is essential for optimum child growth and development.

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