Cultural factors affecting diet and pregnancy outcome of Mexican American adolescents.

PURPOSE: To describe the nutrition knowledge, cultural beliefs, food intake, and attitudes about weight gain of Mexican American adolescents and their relationship to pregnancy weight gain and infant's birth weight.

METHODS: A convenience sample of 46 pregnant adolescents, who were self-identified as Mexican American, primigravidas, and aged 13-18 years, was eligible. Two personal interviews were conducted with each participant, at the second trimester (18-22 weeks' gestation) and third trimester (30-34 weeks' gestation). The measurements were nutrient intake, nutrition knowledge, and attitudes toward weight gain. The proxy measure for acculturation was the length of residence in the United States [Group 1 (G1), n = 14; 3-12 months), G2 (n = 19; 12-48 months), and G3 (n = 13; 48-216 months). Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were performed on the data as appropriate. Qualitative methods were used to describe cultural beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes during pregnancy.

RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 16.34 +/- 1.56 years. A total of 21.74% (n = 10) was American-born and 78.26% (n = 36) was Mexican-born. G3 was significantly (p < .05) the youngest at the time of conception, gained the most weight during pregnancy, was more knowledgeable about nutrition, was more educated, and was single and living with parents. There were no differences regarding the adequacy of diets during pregnancy among the three groups, and all diets adhered to up to 85% of the mean adequacy ratio (MAR). The mean total weight gain was 31.83 +/- 9.88 lb. There were no statistically significant differences of birth weight; the mean value for the three groups was 7.23 +/- 0.98 lb.

CONCLUSIONS: The most powerful factors that reportedly contributed to good food practices during pregnancy were maternal concern about the well-being of the baby, role of motherhood, and family support system. It was found that with acculturation, adolescents lost most of the traditional Mexican cultural beliefs related to pregnancy, and their attitudes about weight gain were more negative. There was no relationship between nutrition knowledge and diet adequacy during pregnancy; they chose the traditional foods thought most nutritious by parents and family, for the benefit of their baby.