Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing, Kingston University, Penrhyn Rd, London, KT1 2EE, United Kingdom.
Croydon University Hospital, 530 London Road, Croydon, CR7 7YE, United Kingdom.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2018 May 25;18(1):182. doi: 10.1186/s12884-018-1834-x.
The reported long-term effects of poor maternal nutrition and uptake of recommended supplements before and during pregnancy was the impetus behind this study. Our objectives were to investigate and understand women's expectations, knowledge, behaviour and information sources used regarding the use of nutrition and vitamin supplements before and during pregnancy.
A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was undertaken. A purposive sampling technique was used. Women attending the antenatal clinic at Croydon University Hospital during 2015 were invited to take part in the study. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, paired sample T-tests and Chi-squared tests, with the level of significance set at 5% (p < 0.05).
A total of 133 pregnant women completed the survey. Analysis of the results showed that women are currently using electronic resources (33%, n = 42) rather than healthcare professionals (19%, n = 25) as an information source before pregnancy. Women who sourced information through the internet were significantly more likely to take folic acid (p = 0.006) and vitamin D (p = 0.004) before pregnancy. Women preferred to receive information from the antenatal clinic (62%, n = 83), internet (46%, n = 61) and from mobile applications (27%, n = 36). Although women believed they had sufficient knowledge (60%, n = 80) and had received adequate advice (53%, n = 70) concerning the correct supplements to take, this was not demonstrated in their behaviour, with only a small number of women (37%, n = 49) taking a folic acid supplement before pregnancy. Women mistakenly perceived the timing of supplement advice as correct, with only a small number of women (18%, n = 23) considering the advice on supplements as too late.
Despite the small sample size, this study demonstrated that women did not receive timely and/or accurate advice to enable them to take the recommended supplements at the optimal time. Women had the misconception that they understood the correct use of pregnancy supplements. This misunderstanding may be prevented by providing women intending to become pregnant with a structured, approved electronic source of information that improves their supplements uptake.
本研究的动机是报道的不良孕产妇营养和在怀孕前后推荐补充剂的摄入的长期影响。我们的目的是调查和了解妇女在怀孕前后使用营养和维生素补充剂的期望、知识、行为和信息来源。
采用横断面调查，使用自我管理问卷。采用目的抽样技术。邀请 2015 年在克罗伊登大学医院产前诊所就诊的妇女参加研究。使用描述性统计、配对样本 T 检验和卡方检验对数据进行分析，显著性水平设为 5%（p<0.05）。
共有 133 名孕妇完成了调查。结果分析表明，妇女目前在怀孕前使用电子资源（33%，n=42）而不是医疗保健专业人员（19%，n=25）作为信息来源。通过互联网获取信息的妇女在怀孕前更有可能服用叶酸（p=0.006）和维生素 D（p=0.004）。妇女更喜欢从产前诊所（62%，n=83）、互联网（46%，n=61）和移动应用程序（27%，n=36）获得信息。尽管妇女认为自己有足够的知识（60%，n=80）并已获得有关正确补充剂的充分建议（53%，n=70），但这并没有反映在她们的行为中，只有少数妇女（37%，n=49）在怀孕前服用叶酸补充剂。妇女错误地认为补充剂建议的时间是正确的，只有少数妇女（18%，n=23）认为补充剂建议太晚了。
尽管样本量较小，但本研究表明，妇女没有及时获得准确的建议，以使她们在最佳时间服用推荐的补充剂。妇女错误地认为她们了解正确使用妊娠补充剂。通过向有怀孕意向的妇女提供经过结构化、批准的电子信息来源，可以改善她们的补充剂摄入量，从而防止这种误解。
