Fatima Nasreen, Khan Muhammad Saad, Fatima Marium, Khalid Maliha, Salomon Izere, Abro Muhammad Tarish
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Medicine, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2025 Jun 9;25(1):669. doi: 10.1186/s12884-025-07795-7.
Food insecurity (FI), defined as the lack of consistent access to sufficient and nutritious food, remains a critical public health issue in low- and middle-income countries. In Pakistan, approximately 37% of the population experiences FI. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable, as nutritional challenges during pregnancy may affect their health-seeking behaviors. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of household food insecurity and patterns of antenatal care (ANC) utilization among pregnant women in Karachi, Pakistan.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, from June to August 2024. Through convenience sampling, 358 pregnant women in their third month of gestation or later were enrolled in the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that included the validated household food security access scale (HFIAS). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Frequencies, percentages, and cross-tabulations were used for description.
The mean age of the 358 participants was 26.45 ± 4.9 years. A total of 60.3% of the respondents were from food-insecure households. ANC utilization was reported by 89.3% of the participants. The highest ANC attendance was observed among women aged 21-26 years, women with primary or secondary education, and housewives. Most ANC users have household incomes ranging between PKR 30,000 and 60,000. ANC use was common among multigravida women and among those without any prior stillbirths or abortions. Most women who underwent ANC were informed or guided about their importance.
A considerable proportion of pregnant women in Karachi reported utilizing ANC services, including those from food-insecure households. Various demographic, educational, and reproductive characteristics of ANC attendance have been described. These findings provide an overview of ANC utilization patterns in an urban tertiary care setting and highlight the coexistence of food insecurity among ANC users.
粮食不安全被定义为无法持续获得充足且营养丰富的食物，在低收入和中等收入国家仍然是一个关键的公共卫生问题。在巴基斯坦，约37%的人口面临粮食不安全。孕妇尤其脆弱，因为孕期的营养挑战可能会影响她们的就医行为。本研究旨在描述巴基斯坦卡拉奇市孕妇家庭粮食不安全的患病率以及产前保健（ANC）的利用模式。
本描述性横断面研究于2024年6月至8月在卡拉奇真纳研究生医学中心妇产科进行。通过便利抽样，纳入了358名妊娠第三个月及以后的孕妇。使用包括经过验证的家庭粮食安全获取量表（HFIAS）的结构化问卷收集数据。使用SPSS 25版进行数据分析。频率、百分比和交叉表用于描述。
358名参与者的平均年龄为26.45±4.9岁。共有60.3%的受访者来自粮食不安全家庭。89.3%的参与者报告利用了产前保健。21 - 26岁的女性、接受过小学或中学教育的女性以及家庭主妇的产前保健就诊率最高。大多数产前保健使用者的家庭收入在30,000至60,000巴基斯坦卢比之间。多胎妊娠女性以及之前没有死产或流产史的女性中，产前保健的使用较为普遍。大多数接受产前保健的女性了解或得到了关于其重要性的指导。
卡拉奇市相当一部分孕妇报告利用了产前保健服务，包括来自粮食不安全家庭的孕妇。描述了产前保健就诊的各种人口统计学、教育和生殖特征。这些发现概述了城市三级医疗环境中产前保健的利用模式，并突出了产前保健使用者中粮食不安全的共存情况。
