CHAPTER ONE
1.1       Introduction
Nutrition is a process of getting the right food for good health, growth and development. It is also the kind of food you eat and the way it affects your health. Good nutrition is vital for good health and it is one of the requirements to meet physiological changes and activity needs of different ages. Nutrition is the process of supplying and receiving nourishment; it is the science of food values (Advance Learners’ Dictionary, 1980).
Nutrition as the process of giving or getting the right kind of food for good health and growth (Krause, 2004).
The knowledge of nutrition by pregnant women is very important, as this will enable them to know the kind of food or drugs to take at any given time. The knowledge of nutrition enables pregnant women to be aware of the type of nutrition to be taken, helps pregnant women to identity and eat those foods that assist their unborn babies to be healthy (Uzor, 2006).
Believing in an intake of particular foods by pregnant women is very essential, because pregnant women who believe in taking certain foods and drugs not only remain healthy, but assist their unborn babies to be healthy. Pregnant women who believe in taking certain diets, deliver their babies strong and healthy (Siimon, 2000).
The practice of nutrition among pregnant women is equally important. This is because, it is one thing to have the knowledge of nutrition and or believe in intake of particular foods, it is very crucial and recommendable for pregnant mothers to form the regular habits of practicing eating good and healthy diets or foods as the benefits therefrom are great (Barnes, 1990).
The knowledge, believe and practices of food nutrition differ in different places. For instance, in India and any other developed countries of the world, pregnant women compulsorily develop the habit of practicing nutrition due to the kind of environment they are in. For instance, pregnant mothers in the developed world, are more exposed to better nutrition than those in the developing world (Lewis, 2001). They have the wherewithal to purchase and eat whatever diet they want.
In Nigeria, many women who are pregnant are not exposed to knowledge, belief and practice of nutrition. This is due to the level of education among Nigerian women. Most pregnant women in Nigeria are illiterate and dwell in the rural areas where information dissemination is difficult and therefore, most pregnant women in Nigeria do not practice nutrition (Onuoha, 2002). Not only being illiterates, they lack the wherewithal to purchase and at whatever diet they need due to poverty.
The practice and belief in nutrition among women who are pregnant in Lagos State, cannot be different from what is obtainable in Nigeria. Except that most pregnant women who dwell in the city of Lagos are aware of nutrition and its effect on health vitality of both mothers and their unborn babies. Most women who live in cities of Lagos State, have much information on nutrition and do develop positive belief and exhibits good practices of the intake of certain foods and drugs during their pregnancies (Nkemdirim, 2007).
Good food is a basic necessity for normal organ development and function, reproduction, growth and maintenance of optimum resistance to infection and ability to repair body damages (Banks, 1993).
Good nutrition is a fundamental part of a healthy life-style. It is very essential if you are planning to become pregnant. Both mother and father to be need to be healthy to provide strong genetic material for the child to be and a healthy womb to grow into it (Almond, 2000).
Nutritional beliefs of pregnant women mean traditional beliefs regarding harmful and beneficial foods for women during pregnancy. There are also beliefs regarding the optimal amount of food to be taken during pregnancy for a successful reproductive out come. These beliefs may or may not conform to the modern biomedical notions about the proper type and amount of food needed by pregnant women to safeguard maternal nutrition, adequate growth of foetus and safe delivery (Allport, 1999). For instance, “An economy and political weekly published, September 10 2004”, revealed that in India, the food taken  by a large section of pregnant women is deficient in caloric content, protein, and other nutrients(a leading cause of maternal and child mortality) (Monde, 2001).
Three well known reasons for low nutritional status of pregnant women in India are wide spread poverty; discrimination against women and female children in household food distribution and health care; and lack or poor quality of antenatal care (Alpha, 1998).
Whether or not the beliefs and practice regarding food during pregnancy are significant additional reasons for the low nutritional status of pregnant and undesirable reproductive outcome in India is an important question which has been hardly addressed by scholars (Bruce, 1999).
The practices about food during pregnancy by women are generally by choice (Bruke, 1991). For instance, the concept of hot and cold food are quite wide spread in India and many other countries, but the underlining criteria for classifying food as “hot” or “cold” are often not clear.
A balance of hot and cold is necessary for body wellbeing and since pregnancy generates a state of hotness, it is desirable to bring a balance by cold foods (Mathew and Benjamin 1999; Nichter and Nichter 1989).
Generally, adequate nutrition in pregnant women is one of the most crucial components of healthy society. Many of the chronic, on going problems that women experience in health, employment and productivity can be alleviated if they receive adequate nutrition through out their life cycle (Edward, 1996).