International Journal of Innovative Research in Health Science

Background: Adequate nutrition during pregnancy is essential for maternal well-being and fetal development. Primigravida mothers, who are experiencing pregnancy for the first time often lack prior experience and may hold inadequate knowledge or ambivalent attitudes toward antenatal diet, placing them at higher risk of nutritional deficiencies. Aim: To assess the level of knowledge and attitude regarding antenatal diet among primigravida mothers. Methods: A descriptive,cross-sectional design was used among 60primigravida mothers residing in the Maduravoyal Urban Primary Health Centre community area, Chennai, selected through non-probability convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured knowledge questionnaire (15 items) and a 5-point Likert attitude scale (15 items). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: Most participants (65.0%) had average knowledge, 28.3% had poor knowledge, and only 6.7% had good knowledge regarding antenatal diet. In contrast, the majority(88.3%) held a positive attitude and 11.7% a neutral attitude ,with none showing a negative attitude.A statistically significant mild positive correlation was found between knowledge and attitude scores (r = 0.371, p = 0.004). Knowledge was significantly associated with age, dietary pattern, educational status, occupation, monthly family income, type of family, duration of pregnancy, and source of information (p < 0.05). Attitude was significantly associated with dietary pattern, religion, educational status, occupation, type of family, area of residence, and source of information (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Primigravida mothers demonstrated only average nutritional knowledge despite a largely positive attitude toward antenatal diet, and the two were positively correlated. Structured, continuous nutrition education delivered by nurses during antenatal care is recommended to close this knowledge gap and support healthy dietary practices.