Ghana MHL Project, Tamale

Maternal Health, Literacy and Pregnancy Outcomes: The Role of Specialized Nutrition Education

This study is designed to test a nutrition education program that focuses on local foods in northern Ghana. The goal is to help pregnant women eat a wider variety of foods, increase their intake of protein, energy, and iron-rich foods, and support healthy weight gain during pregnancy. We want to understand how this program impacts mothers' knowledge about nutrition and health, and how it affects the health of their babies. The program was created with input from pregnant women and health professionals in the community.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Nulliparous pregnant (first-time) mothers (BMI<20kg/m2) between the ages of 18 and 40 attending antenatal sessions and in their second trimester, gestational ages (GA) of 16 weeks to 20 weeks, who are not carrying multiple fetuses

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women with pregnancies greater than 20 weeks gestation, to ensure adequate exposure to the intervention; mothers presenting with significant morbidity or who are admitted due to complications and mothers who cannot confirm an address or contact information and do not plan to deliver at a health facility as well as those who indicate that they would not deliver in the study region (those who will be out of town at time of delivery).