Browsing by Author "Masesane, Anastacia"

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    Nutrition knowledge and practices of midwives providing maternal health services in Kanye, Kgatleng and South East Health Districts, Botswana
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Masesane, Anastacia; Dhlamini, Thembelile; Mbhenyan, Xilombiso; Nnyepi, Maria; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Global Health. Human Nutrition.
    Background: Maternal malnutrition has been identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a global public health concern. Poor nutrition during pregnancy especially at the early developmental stage of the foetus has been proven to cause adverse effects for both the mother and the infant leading to maternal and child mortality. To promote adequate nutrition during pregnancy until postpartum period, midwives have been well positioned to provide antenatal care (ANC) for a positive pregnancy outcome. Therefore, their maternal nutrition knowledge and practices have an impact on the quality of the service provided. The aim of the study was to investigate midwives’ nutrition knowledge and practices and the integration of nutrition care in maternal health services at the health facilities in Kanye, Kgatleng and South East health districts in Botswana. Method: The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive design with an analytic component. Interviewer administered questionnaire and observation checklist were used for quantitative data collection. All midwives within the participating districts who met the inclusion criteria were invited to take part in the study. A total of 124 midwives were targeted to take part in the study. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 26 was used to capture and analyse the data collected. Adequate maternal nutrition knowledge and good practice were given a score of 80 percent and above each. Pearson’s correlation test was used to test for association while analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to test the difference between independent groups. Results: A total of 102 midwives participated in the study, achieving a response rate of 82%. Majority of midwives (89.2%) were females while 10.8% were males. The mean maternal nutrition knowledge score of midwives was 17.78±3.19 out of 34. Midwives mainly depended on their experience as their main source of maternal nutrition information. There was a significantly negative correlation between midwives’ maternal nutrition knowledge and age (p=<0.005). Midwives who were more experienced were not necessarily more knowledgeable than others. Furthermore, the study demonstrated a significantly negative correlation between midwifery experience and their maternal nutrition knowledge (p=<0.028). The mean nutrition practice score of midwives was 19.21±2.54 out of 28. Only a few midwives (10.8%) attended maternal nutrition related courses in the past two years. The findings revealed no significant difference between maternal nutrition knowledge and practices of midwives. Approximately 42.2% of midwives indicated that refresher training was necessary to improve their maternal nutrition knowledge and the quality of their nutrition practice. Conclusion: Midwives had inadequate maternal nutrition knowledge despite their many years of experience. However, nutrition care practice was moderately provided. Providing refresher courses and in-service training might improve midwives’ maternal nutrition knowledge and nutrition care. Future research should focus on exploring strategies for improving midwives’ knowledge and skills on maternal and child nutrition.