Food & Nutrition

Arab Journal of Food & Nutrition
21. The Effect of Nutrition Intervention on the Prevention of Iron Deficiency
Anemia in a Sample of Pregnant Women in Amman (1996)
Ola Mohammad Azzam Younis\ University of Jordan
Supervisor: Dr. Khader El-Masri
This study was performed at the MCH-training center in Amman. The main
objective was to study the effect of a nutrition intervention program on the prevention
of iron-deficiency anemia, which is very common among pregnant women. This
educational program depends on substituting iron supplements with local foods
available in Jordan. Forty pregnant women were included in the study. They were
assigned to an intervention group who received nutritional counseling through an
intervention program and a control group who were left without counseling. The
following indicators were used to study the effectiveness of the nutrition intervention
program at the beginning and the end of the study: socioeconomic and health status, an
evaluation exam for nutrition knowledge, anthropometric indicators, dietary intake,
clinical examination and biochemical parameters. Pregnant women in both groups
were not given iron supplementation during the current pregnancy.
The initial dietary assessment revealed that the mean intake of iron and zinc were
inadequate in both groups (i.e.
77% of recommended dietary allowances). At the final assessment, there was a
significant increase in dietary iron intake (p