# Newborn Nutritional Status at Birth and Its Association With Maternal Dietary Practices During Pregnancy in Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A Path Analysis

## TL;DR

This study shows that poor maternal diets during pregnancy in Ethiopia are linked to higher rates of newborn malnutrition, emphasizing the need for better nutrition and women's empowerment.

## Contribution

The study uses path analysis to reveal direct and indirect effects of maternal dietary practices on newborn nutritional outcomes in Ethiopia.

## Key findings

- Inadequate maternal diets were associated with higher rates of stunting and wasting in newborns.
- Factors like decision-making autonomy and dietary information significantly influenced newborn nutritional scores.
- Empowering women and improving maternal nutrition can help break the cycle of undernutrition.

## Abstract

Adequate dietary practice during pregnancy is central to improving pregnancy outcomes, maintaining maternal health, and supporting fetal growth and development. This study aims to determine the association between maternal dietary practices during pregnancy and newborn malnutrition at birth. A community‐based prospective cohort study was employed, enrolling 247 pregnant women with adequate and 248 with inadequate dietary practices. The test of proportion was used to determine the difference in stunting and wasting at birth among newborns of mothers with adequate and inadequate dietary practices during pregnancy. Path analysis was used to determine the causal direction, as well as the direct and indirect effects of covariates on length‐for‐gestational‐age and weight‐for‐length scores at birth. Betas (β) represent the coefficient that indicates the magnitude and direction of the relationship between the predictor and the outcome. And Confidence Intervals (CIs) are the values within which the true population coefficient is likely to lie. A range that includes zero indicates uncertainty. The overall proportion of stunting, wasting, and concurrent stunting and wasting at birth was 25.30% (95% CI: 21.66, 29.34), 10.32% (95% CI: 7.93, 13.34), and 1.82% (95% CI: 0.95, 3.47), respectively. Newborns from mothers with inadequate dietary practices had a significantly higher incidence of stunting (34.27%) and wasting (14.17%) at birth. Inadequate dietary practice (β = 0.48), better nutritional status (β = 0.10), decision‐making autonomy (β = 0.61), having dietary information (β =1.12), meal frequency (β = 0.11), socio‐economic status (β = 0.32), short stature (β = 0.01), and nutrient‐dense food intake (β = 0.10) and local leafy foods intake (β = 0.07), had significant effects on length‐for‐gestational‐age score. Inadequate dietary practice (β = 0.71), higher socio‐economic status (β = 0.08) and having dietary information (β = 0.67) had significant effects on weight‐for‐length score. Thus, governmental and nongovernmental organizations working on maternal and child health should address these factors to reduce the incidence and its short‐term and long‐term impacts of under nutrition at birth.

Under nutrition, which includes conditions like stunting, wasting, and concurrent stunting‐wasting can start in the womb and is often prevalent at birth. Empowering women with autonomy in household decision‐making is essential for reducing the rates of under nutrition at birth, particularly in regions like Ethiopia, where mothers have limited influence over household and health service decisions. Adequate dietary practice during pregnancy is essential for enhancing the nutritional status of newborns and, consequently, reducing the intergenerational cycle of under nutrition.