Adequate maternal nutrition is a key factor for achieving good pregnancy outcomes. Moreover, inadequate dietary intake during pregnancy is considered an important contributor to maternal malnutrition in developing countries. Although some studies have examined the effect of the entire diet on birth outcome, most studies have been very narrow because they considered the effect of single nutrient. The single nutrient approach is a major setback because usually several nutrient deficiencies are more likely to occur than single deficiencies especially in low-income settings. The main aim of this study was to investigate the association between maternal dietary patterns, and practices and birth weight in Northern Ghana. A facility-based cross-sectional survey was performed in two districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. The selected districts were the Tamale Metropolis and Savelugu-Nanton District. These districts were purposively sampled to represent a mix of urban, peri-urban and rural populations, therefore ensuring that the distribution in social groups of the study population was similar to the entire population of the region. In all, 578 mothers who were drawing antenatal and postnatal care services were interviewed using a questionnaire, which asked the mothers about their frequency of consumption of individual foods per week since they became pregnant or when they were pregnant. We determined dietary patterns by applying a factor analysis with a varimax rotation using STATA. Multivariate analysis was used to establish association between maternal factors and dietary patterns. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between dietary practices and patterns and birth weight. Women who ate outside the home twice a week (OR = 1.6 & 95% CI; 1.1–2.45, P; 0.017) and those who practiced ‘pica’ (OR = 1.7 & 95% CI; 1.16–2.75, P; 0.008) had increased odds for low birth. Two dietary patterns were identified—namely ‘health conscious’ and ‘non-health conscious’. Health conscious diet (OR = 0.23 95% CI 0.12–0.45 per standard deviation change in scores, P; <0.0001) and dietary diversity score (OR = 0.10 95% CI 0.04–0.13 per standard deviation change in scores, P; <0.0001) showed a protective effect for low birth weight respectively after adjusting for gestational age. Mothers who practiced good nutrition such as consuming foods across and within the various food groups were less likely to have low birth weight babies. Our findings buttress the importance of optimal nutrition during pregnancy.

Birth weight is a crucial determinant of the development potential of the newborn. Abnormal newborn weights are associated with negative effects on the health and survival of the baby and the mother. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the prevalence of abnormal birth weight and related factors in Northern region, Ghana. The study was a facility-based cross-sectional survey in five hospitals in Northern region, Ghana. These hospitals were selected based on the different socio-economic backgrounds of their clients. The data on birth weight and other factors were derived from hospital records. It was observed that low birth weight is still highly prevalent (29.6 %), while macrosomia (10.5 %) is also increasingly becoming important. There were marginal differences in low birth weight observed across public hospitals but marked difference in low birth weight was observed in Cienfuegos Suglo Specialist Hospital (Private hospital) as compared to the public hospitals. The private hospital also had the highest prevalence of macrosomia (20.1 %). Parity (0–1) (p < 0.001), female gender (p < 0.001) and location (rural) (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with decreased risk of macrosomic births. On the other hand, female infant sex (p < 0.001), residential status (rural) (p < 0.001) and parity (0–1) (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with increased risk of low birth weigh. Our findings show that under nutrition (low birth weight) and over nutrition (macrosomia) coexist among infants at birth in Northern region reflecting the double burden of malnutrition phenomenon, which is currently being experienced by developing and transition counties. Both low birth weight and macrosomia are risk factors, which could contribute considerably to the current and future burden of diseases. This may overstretch the already fragile health system in Ghana. Therefore, it is prudent to recommend that policies aiming at reducing diet related diseases should focus on addressing malnutrition during pregnancy and early life.

Weight at birth is usually considered as an indicator of the health status of a given society. As a result this study was designed to investigate the association between birth weight and maternal factors such as gestational weight gain, pre—pregnancy BMI and socio—economic status in Northern Ghana. The study was a facility-based cross-sectional survey conducted in two districts in the Northern region of Ghana. These districts were purposively sampled to represent a mix of urban, peri—urban and rural population. The current study included 419 mother-infant pairs who delivered at term (37–42 weeks). Mother’s height, pre-pregnancy weight and weight changes were generated from the antenatal records. Questionnaires were administered to establish socio-economic and demographic information of respondents. Maternal factors associated with birth weight were examined using multiple and univariate regressions. The mothers were generally well nourished before conception (Underweight 3.82%, Normal 57.76%, Overweight 25.06% and Obesity 13.37%) but approximately half of them could not gain adequate weight according to Institute of Medicine recommendations (Low weight gain 49.64%, Adequate weight gain 42.96% and Excessive weight gain 7.40%). Infants whose mothers had excess weight gain were 431g (95% CI 18–444) heavier compared to those whose mothers gained normal weight, while those whose mothers gained less were 479g (95% CI -682– (-276) lighter. Infants of mothers who were overweight and obese before conception were 246g (95% CI 87–405) and 595g (95% CI 375–815) respectively heavier than those of normal mothers, whereas those whose mothers were underweight were 305g (95% CI -565 –(-44) lighter. The mean birth weight observed was 2.98 ± 0.68 kg. Our findings show that pre-pregnancy body mass index and weight gain during pregnancy influence birth weight. Therefore, emphasis should be placed on counseling and assisting pregnant women to stay within the recommended weight gain ranges.

As anemia remains a major public health problem in Ghana, we examined the effect of dietary intakes, and antenatal care (ANC) practices on red cell indices and anemia prevalence during the pregnancy continuum for 415 women. Dietary history was taken using the Food and Agriculture Organization minimum dietary diversity indicator for women (MDD-W). Intake of ≥5 food groups was a proxy for micronutrient adequacy. Odds for anemia and meeting the MDD-W were estimated using ordinal and binary logistic regressions respectively. Intakes of 41.4% were micronutrient inadequate. At any time point in pregnancy, 54.4% were anemic (mild = 31.1%; moderate = 23.1%; severe = 0.2%) with 10%-point variation across the first (57.3%), second (56.4%) and third (53.3%) trimesters and pre-delivery (47.7%); 27.8% were anemic throughout pregnancy while 17.1% were never anemic. Morphologically, microcytic (79.4%) and hypochromic (29.3%) anemia were most prevalent, indicating nutritional deficiencies. Planning the pregnancy was a significant determinant for meeting the MDD-W. Overall, adolescence, poor diet, suboptimum ANC and underweight were associated with moderate and severe anemia. In specific time-points, dietary counselling, malaria, iron-folic acid supplementation, sickle cell disease and preeclampsia were observed. Decline of anemia during pregnancy suggests the positive impact of ANC services and supports strengthening education on dietary diversification during ANC.

Introduction. Menstruation is crucial in the reproductive lives of all women. The advent of menses in most settings is accompanied by physical and psychological health, religious, social, and cultural implications. The research intends to identify determinants of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices among adolescent girls in Junior High Schools in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region of Ghana. Methods. The study employed an analytical cross-sectional design with 430 adolescent schoolgirls selected through multistage sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data and analyzed using STATA version 14. A logistic regression model was run to determine the predictors of MHM practices. Results. The study discovered that 63.7 of the girls had sufficient knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene. Almost all girls (97) used some form of absorbent materials during menses, with over half of these girls (58.6) using commercial sanitary pads, 30.5 using cloth, 3.7 using cotton, and 4.2 using tissue papers with 3.0 reported not using any absorbent material. Only 44.4 reported reusing their absorbent materials. Out of which, the majority (88.5) of the schoolgirls cleaned their reusable absorbent material using soap and water with 77.5 drying absorbent materials in the sun. Overall, 84.9 practiced good MHM. Type of school [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=6.0; 95 Confidence Interval (CI) (2.64-13.59)], pocket money [AOR=2.5; 95 CI (1.27-4.86)], and residence [AOR=2.8 95 CI (1.55-5.18)] were the most significant determinants of menstrual hygiene management practice. Conclusion. About two-thirds of the schoolgirls are knowledgeable in menstrual hygiene but access to management materials is problematic whereas approximately half of the girls have access to sanitary pads and the rest resort to the use of cloth and cotton. Pocket money and residential status were the most important predictors of the menstrual hygiene management. The government initiative to provide schoolgirls with sanitary pads could go a long way to improve menstrual hygiene management if implemented across all schools in Ghana, particularly in rural areas.