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Antenatal calcium intake in M alaysia
Author(s) -
Mahdy Zaleha Abdullah,
Basri Hashimah,
Md Isa Zaleha,
Ahmad Shuhaila,
Shamsuddin Khadijah,
Mohd Amin Rahmah
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1447-0756
pISSN - 1341-8076
DOI - 10.1111/jog.12277
Subject(s) - medicine , calcium , pregnancy , dietary reference intake , cross sectional study , zoology , physiology , environmental health , nutrient , biology , ecology , genetics , pathology
Aim To determine the adequacy of antenatal calcium intake in M alaysia, and the influencing factors. Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted among postnatal women who delivered in two tertiary hospitals. Data were collected from antenatal cards, hospital documents and diet recall on daily milk and calcium intake during pregnancy. SPSS version 19.0 was used for statistical analyses. Results A total of 150 women were studied. The total daily calcium intake was 834 ± 43 mg (mean ± standard error of the mean), but the calcium intake distribution curve was skewed to the right with a median intake of 725 mg daily. When calcium intake from milk and calcium supplements was excluded, the daily dietary calcium intake was only 478 ± 25 mg. Even with inclusion of milk and calcium supplements, more than a third ( n = 55 or 36.7%) of the women consumed less than 600 mg calcium in their daily diet. The adequacy of daily calcium intake was not influenced by maternal age, ethnicity, income or maternal job or educational status as well as parity. Conclusion The daily dietary calcium intake of the M alaysian antenatal population is far from adequate without the addition of calcium supplements and milk.