Objectives:

To evaluate diet quality of pregnant women and to examine the relationship between nutrition knowledge level and diet quality.

Materials and Methods:

The study was conducted with 280 female patients who admitted to Ankara Lokman Hekim Etlik Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinics between October 2020 and May 2021. After taking anthropometric measurements, Adult Nutrition Knowledge Level Scale (YETBİD) and the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015) were utilized by face-to-face interview method.

Results:

The mean HEI-2015 scores of the pregnant women in the first, second, third trimesters and the women in the control group were 55±9.5, 55.4±10.3, 56.2±10, 55±11.1, respectively (p<0.05). They were found to have diet quality were poor and needed to be improved. The total HEI-2015 scores of the participants did not differ statistically between the groups (p>0.05). With respect to body mass index grouping, there is no statistical difference between the SYİ-2015 scores of the participants (p>0.05). The basic nutrition knowledge scores of pregnant women in the first trimester are higher than those in the third trimester (p=0.046). Basic nutrition knowledge scores of pregnant women with higher education and profession are higher than pregnant women who do not work (p<0.001). The diet quality of the pregnant women in the third trimester was affected by the nutritional knowledge level, and the diet quality of the control group was affected by the food preferences (p=0.007).

Conclusion:

Both pregnant and non-pregnant women have insufficient diet quality and nutrition knowledge levels. In order to improve diet quality of pregnant women, basic nutrition knowledge and correct food selection education are needed.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Nutrition, Diet Quality, Nutrition Knowledge Level