Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study explores the link between a mother's dietary variety score and her prenatal eating patterns, focusing on the potential impact on her health and the likelihood of a low-birth-weight baby. METHODS: Mothers at the Ganga Medical Centre and Hospitals in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, were interviewed to measure bio-social variables, including pre-pregnancy weight, height, BMI, total weight gain, and birth weight. Low birth weight was the main measure of interest. RESULTS: The study found that 63.33% of neonates had a low birth weight, with 68% preterm and 32% late due to IUGR. 45% of mothers had a low BMI during pregnancy and pregnancies. CONCLUSION: Nutrition programs should prioritize screening and treating at-risk women, reducing the low-birth-weight infant burden, and promoting better maternal protein intake to improve baby birth weight.