Inadequate food diversity and food taboo associated with maternal iron deficiency among pregnant women living in slum settlements in Makassar City, Indonesia

Nurul Magfirah; Ansariadi Ansariadi; Ridwan Amiruddin; Eri Wijaya; Ida L Maria; Ummu Salmah; Erniwati Ibrahim

doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_824_23

Inadequate food diversity and food taboo associated with maternal iron deficiency among pregnant women living in slum settlements in Makassar City, Indonesia

J Educ Health Promot. 2024 Feb 26:13:67. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_824_23. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Nurul Magfirah¹, Ansariadi Ansariadi², Ridwan Amiruddin², Eri Wijaya², Ida L Maria², Ummu Salmah³, Erniwati Ibrahim⁴

Affiliations

¹ Master Program in Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia.
² Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar Indonesia.
³ Department of Biostatistic, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar Indonesia.
⁴ Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Public Health, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia.

Abstract

Background: Anemia in pregnancy is a major public health problem, especially in developing countries. The most common cause is nutritional deficiencies, especially iron deficiency. Adequate nutritional intake from food is essential during pregnancy. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between food access and intake patterns with the incidence of iron deficiency among pregnant women living in the slum settlement in Makassar City.

Materials and methods: This research is a sub-study of the Indonesian Birth Cohort Study based in Makassar City. This sub-study used a cross-sectional design and recruited 173 pregnant women in their second and third trimesters using total sampling. All data were collected using a structured questionnaire and recorded using KoboToolbox software. Serum ferritin levels were examined for iron status using the ELISA method at the Microbiology Laboratory Unit at Hasanuddin University Teaching Hospital. The statistical data were analyzed using STATA version 14 with Chi-square analysis and logistic regression.

Results: The prevalence of iron deficiency in pregnant women living in slum settlements in Makassar City was 78%. Logistic regression analysis showed that inadequate food diversity (AOR: 2.58; 95% CI: 1.17-5.69; P = 0.019) and food taboos (AOR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.26-6.26; P = 0.011) were significantly associated with the incidence.

Conclusions: Most pregnant women living in slum settlements in Makassar City experienced iron deficiency. Pregnant women who experience iron shortages have been connected to food taboos and dietary diversity.

Keywords: Food diversity; food taboo; iron deficiency; pregnant women; slum settlement.