Abstract

The burden of disease caused by adverse pregnancy outcomes, including maternal and child morbidity and mortality, in developing countries, has been enormous. An important contributor to good pregnancy outcome is the nutritional status of the mother, which is a factor of adequacy or otherwise of the dietary intake in pregnancy. Household food security is a determinant of adequate dietary intake. This study assessed and compared household food security among 720 rural and urban pregnant women from Ogun-East senatorial district using semi-structured, interviewer-administered, six-item, short form food security questionnaire. Data analysis was done using International Business Machine (IBM) statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 14.00. The result was presented as proportions, with the relevant test statistic. Household food security was higher among the rural respondents than their urban counterparts. More urban respondents were food insecure without hunger and with hunger compared with their rural counterparts. There was no significant difference (p = 0.070) between the household food security status of both groups of respondents. Economic empowerment of women and improvement in food availability even during the planting season will go a long way in improving the food security status of many households.

Key words: Household, food, security, pregnant, women.