Effect of Okra-Based Nutrition Education On Utilization of Wild Edible Plants, Dietary Practices and Nutritional Status of Pregnant Women in Okra-Producing Areas of Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Okra and palm heart are served as a food source and for medicinal purposes across different parts of the world. In Sub-Saharan African countries, pregnant women consume wild plants as food supplements or substitutes during periods of food insecurity and to promote their health throughout the entire pregnancy. Such types of alternative food sources are culturally friendly, easily available, and economically affordable diets for pregnant women. Furthermore, okra is also a natural source of antioxidants that reduces the impacts of oxidative stress during pregnancy like spontaneous abortions, preeclampsia, and intrauterine growth restriction. Even though, different national and global efforts were made to improve maternal nutrition, undernutrition is still one of the most public health problems for Ethiopian women. Therefore, consumption of okra during pregnancy is an alternative source of different macronutrients like protein in areas where consumption of animal sources of protein is limited. Likewise, okra seed flour can be used for food fortification to enrich the micronutrient contents of different foods. Thus, okra has a crucial role in mitigating hidden hunger and protein energy malnutrition in rural communities of low-income countries. For this reason, such nutrient-dense organic food sources need greater attention. However, in Ethiopia, the literature on nutrient databases of okra and palm heart are inadequate which limits nutrition education efforts to improve the nutrient intake of vulnerable population segments for malnutrition in our country. Likewise, there is no documented evidence on the effects of okra-based nutrition education interventions carried out to improve maternal nutrition and consumption of wild edible plants in Ethiopia. Therefore, this Ph.D. research work focused on generating evidence on the effect of okra-based nutrition education on the utilization of wild edible plants, dietary practices, and nutritional status of pregnant women.