Nutritional knowledge, attitudes and practices and their determinants among pregnant women attending healthcare centres in southern Tehran

OBJECTIVES: To assess nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes and practices among pregnant women, and identify socioeconomic and healthcare determinants. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study on maternal nutrition during pregnancy. SETTING: Pregnant women attending primary healthcare centres in the south of Tehran from December 2022 to March 2024. PARTICIPANTS: 1535 pregnant women of all ages living in the south of Tehran (both Iranian and non-Iranian). MEASURES: Pregnant women were systematically selected from primary healthcare centres. Data were collected via validated questionnaires and electronic health records. Statistical analyses included multivariate logistic regression (adjusted ORs (aORs) with 95% CIs) and generalised linear mixed models. RESULTS: The findings revealed that a majority of pregnant women (83.3%; 95% CI 81.2% to 85.3%) exhibited low levels of nutritional knowledge (scores below 12), whereas 14% demonstrated moderate knowledge (scores between 12 and 17), and only 2.7% (95% CI 1.9% to 3.8%) possessed high nutritional knowledge (scores above 18). In terms of attitudes, 36.9% of respondents expressed positive views toward nutrition, with higher education significantly associated with positive attitudes (aOR=1.8; 95% CI 1.3 to 2.5, comparing higher vs lower education levels). Dietary variety was consistently reported by 65.4% of participants, while 8.5% lacked dietary variety. Statistically significant associations were observed between educational attainment, socioeconomic status and nutrition-related practices (p