Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Impact of Food Insecurity, Undernutrition, and Associate Factors on Pregnant Women: A Review

Ziad Ahmed

Asian Journal of Food Research and Nutrition · pp. 1316–1325 · Published 28 Dec 2024

10.9734/ajfrn/2024/v3i4219

Abstract

The health and well-being of pregnant women are greatly impacted by food insecurity and undernutrition, which can have serious negative effects on both the mother and the fetus. The purpose of this review is to investigate how pregnant women are affected by food insecurity, undernutrition, and related conditions. The review summarizes previous research and highlights important conclusions from investigations carried out in various contexts. Pregnant women worldwide are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, which is defined as having inadequate access to enough safe, nourishing food. Undernutrition in mothers raises the risk of unfavorable outcomes like low birth weight, premature birth, and difficulties for the mother. It is caused by inadequate food consumption, inadequate nutrient intake, and poor diet quality. Moreover, food insecurity exacerbates the difficulties pregnant women confront because it frequently coexists with socioeconomic inequality, restricted access to healthcare, and weak social support networks. Food insecurity and undernutrition during pregnancy can be caused by a variety of reasons, such as cultural practices, poverty, unemployment, and a lack of knowledge. A comprehensive strategy is needed for interventions targeted at resolving these concerns, including social protection programs, efforts to generate income, nutrition education, and healthcare services. Undernutrition and food poverty have a serious negative influence on pregnant women's health, both for the mother and the fetus. It is imperative to tackle the intricate interaction of factors that lead to food insecurity and undernutrition in order to enhance the health and overall wellbeing of expectant mothers and their offspring.

Undernutrition food insecurity unborn nutritional education pregnant women

References (40)

  1. 1 Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Unique Opportunities for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association [DOI]
  2. 2 The importance of nutrition in pregnancy and lactation: lifelong consequences [DOI]
  3. 3 Macronutrient and Micronutrient Intake during Pregnancy: An Overview of Recent Evidence [DOI]
  4. 4 The Risk of Maternal Nutritional Depletion and Poor Outcomes Increases in Early or Closely Spaced Pregnancies [DOI]
  5. 5 Household Food Insecurity: Associations With At-Risk Infant and Toddler Development [DOI]
  6. 6 Household Food Insecurity Is Associated with Self-Reported Pregravid Weight Status, Gestational Weight Gain, and Pregnancy Complications [DOI]
  7. 7 Maternal Diet and Nutrient Requirements in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. An Italian Consensus Document [DOI]
  8. 8 Severity of Anemia During Pregnancy and Adverse Maternal and Fetal Outcomes [DOI]
  9. 9 Macronutrient balance and micronutrient amounts through growth and development [DOI]
  10. 10 The impact of food insecurity on health outcomes: empirical evidence from sub-Saharan African countries [DOI]
  11. 11 Importance of Maternal Nutrition in the First 1,000 Days of Life and Its Effects on Child Development: A Narrative Review [DOI]
  12. 12 Maternal factors during pregnancy influencing maternal, fetal, and childhood outcomes [DOI]
  13. 13 Household food insecurity and mental distress among pregnant women in Southwestern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study design [DOI]
  14. 14 How does high socioeconomic status affect maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes? A population-based study among American women [DOI]
  15. 15 Prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among pregnant women in Konso district, southern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study [DOI]
  16. 16 Undernutrition and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia. A systematic review and meta-analysis [DOI]
  17. 17 Improving maternal nutrition for better pregnancy outcomes [DOI]
  18. 18 Inadequacy of nutrients intake among pregnant women in the Deep South of Thailand [DOI]
  19. 19 Dietary Diversity is Associated with Nutrient Intakes and Nutritional Status of Children in Ghana [DOI]
  20. 20 Are Our Babies Hungry? Food Insecurity Among Infants in Urban Clinics [DOI]
  21. 21 Undernutrition among Pregnant Women in Rural Communities in Southern Ethiopia [DOI]
  22. 22 KNOWLEDGE OF NUTRITION DURING PREGNANCY AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG ANTENATAL MOTHERS
  23. 23 Prevalence of Undernutrition and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in a Public General Hospital, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study Design [DOI]
  24. 24 Factors Influencing Dietary Patterns during Pregnancy in a Culturally Diverse Society [DOI]
  25. 25 Nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices among pregnant females in 2020 Shenzhen China: A cross-sectional study [DOI]
  26. 26 Prenatal Nutrition and Nutrition in Pregnancy: Effects on Long-Term Growth and Development [DOI]
  27. 27 Pre-natal nutrition education: Health care providers’ knowledge and quality of services in primary health care centres in Lagos, Nigeria [DOI]
  28. 28 Inequalities in maternal malnutrition in Ethiopia: evidence from a nationally representative data [DOI]
  29. 29 Influence of Maternal Diet and Environmental Factors on Fetal Development [DOI]
  30. 30 Associations between maternal dietary intake and nutritional status with fetal growth at 14 to 26 weeks gestation: a cross- sectional study [DOI]
  31. 31 Factors Associated With Undernutrition Among Pregnant and Lactating Syrian Refugee Women in Jordan [DOI]
  32. 32 Undernutrition during Pregnancy [DOI]
  33. 33 Long-term health consequences of poor nutrition during pregnancy [DOI]
  34. 34 Nutritional status of pregnant women reporting at Rural Health Training Centre [DOI]
  35. 35 Excellent image quality or superior dose conformity? [DOI]
  36. 36 Household Food Insecurity and Associated Dietary and Socio-economic Factors among Pregnant Women of Mid-west Bangladesh [DOI]
  37. 37 BMC pregnancy and childbirth - ‘screening and management of food insecurity in pregnancy’ [DOI]
  38. 38 Factors Associated with Food Insecurity among Pregnant Women in Gedeo Zone Public Hospitals, Southern Ethiopia [DOI]
  39. 39 Pregnancy outcome in South Asian women: Factors affecting diet and nutrition
  40. 40 Prevalence of undernutrition among pregnant women and its differences across relevant subgroups in rural Ethiopia: a community based cross-sectional survey [DOI]

Cited by 0

No indexed citations yet.

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

42

Page views

0

PDF downloads

10

Outbound clicks

0

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.