Abstract:
Midwives provide most of the maternity services, including nutritional counseling and education
services. In Ghana, there is scarce evidence regarding the competency of midwives in providing sound
nutritional advice to pregnant women. Therefore, the aim of this research was to assess the nutritional
knowledge levels of final year midwifery students. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted,
in which 562 final year midwifery students from six Midwifery Training Institutions answered 20
multiple-choice questions on nutritional-related issues during pregnancy. An average score of 9.8
(approximately 49%) was obtained by the respondents. Most (>70%) of the respondents were
knowledgeable of the ideal time to start taking folic acid when planning to be pregnant and the effects
of high alcohol intake during pregnancy. Key areas that require attention included recommended
weight gain during pregnancy, sources and functions of micronutrients, such as folic acid, iron, vitamin
C, calcium and iodine during pregnancy, and nutritional management of pregnancy-related conditions
like pregnancy-induced hypertension, nausea and heartburn. The findings of this study support other
reports that midwives need more training in human nutrition; and it has important implications for
professional planning of curricula for midwifery education.
