[Nutrition habits in pregnant women]

Proper diet during pregnancy is one of the conditions of correct fetal development and maintenance of good health of pregnant women. Increased demand for energy and nutritial substances is connected with growth of mother's tissue mass and also with growth of fetals mass and afterbirth. During pregnancy, quality composition of ailment is not only important, but also the quantity and regularity in taking meals.

The aim of this study was to investigate nutrician status of pregnant women hospitalized in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Collegium Medicum of The Jagiellonian University.

There were 96 women, hospitilized for complications during pregnancy, from 1.11.2002 to 28.02 2003, in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Collegium Medicum of The Jagiellonian University, asked for filling up the questionnaire about their diet during pregnancy.

Medium age of patients was 28.3 years. 47% of women were multiparas. Average body mass before pregnancy was 60 kg and BMI (Body Mass Index) was 21.95. 46% examined women had highschool education. In 96 of questioned women 50% took informations about proper diet during pregnancy from the pass, only 12.5% from the obstetricians. None of the questioned women defined their nutritian condition as bad or mild, for 72% it was good and for 28% very good. Most of them (69%) applied common diet without modifications, only 6% of women had good digestive diet. Alcohol was consumed occasionally by 22% of women, rest of them did not consume it at all. Majority of women, 90.5% did't smoke cigarettes, 6.5% smoked occasionally and 3% up to 10 cigarettes per day.

1. Obtained data suggests that nutrition habits don't change significantly during pregnancy. 2. Pregnant women are not enough informed about healthy diet during pregnancy by doctors which leads to irregularity in taking meals. 3. General nutritial status of pregnant women could be considered satisfactory in the most of cases.