Awareness of pregnant women about proper nutrition habits and rational diet

Introduction Proper nutrition of a woman before conception and during pregnancy determines the proper course of pregnancy, fetal development and the health of the mother and child in the future. A properly balanced diet must cover the increased demand for energy and provide the right amount and quality of nutrients. Aim The aim of the study was to verification the nutritional knowledge of pregnant women depending on age, place of residence and number of pregnancies. Results The survey involved 66 women between 19 and 40 years old (average age 30.50±4.30 years). 40.9% of the women were under 30 (N=27), and 59.1% of the respondents were 30 or older (N=39). 54.5% of women lived in cities (N=36), and 45.5% of the respondents lived in rural areas (N=30). Women who were pregnant for the first time accounted for 48.5% of the respondents (N=32). According to their own opinion, the majority of women (62.1%) stated that their knowledge of nutrition during pregnancy was good, and 28.8% assessed their knowledge as very good. The change in diet after pregnancy was confirmed by 81.8% of the surveyed women, in particular the changes concerned eating more vegetables and fruits (79.6%), avoiding highly processed products (61.1%) and avoiding sweets (50.0%). Most of the respondents (97.0%) indicated that they had eliminated products from their diet, i.e. alcohol (100.0%), Fast Food (57.8%) or sushi (60.9%). Snacks were eaten by 92.4% of the respondents, most often fruits (83.6%) and vegetables (63.9%). Conclusion Nutritional awareness of pregnant women is at a good level. Appropriate changes in their diet are declared by the majority of the surveyed women. It would be advisable to educate women planning pregnancy and pregnant women about the specific effects of essential nutrients and the risk of their deficiencies

Vaccinations against COVID-19 in the opinion of medical services workers and the general social opinion

Introduction This study was devoted to getting to know the public opinion, including representatives of medical professions, regarding the presented views on vaccination against Covid-19, allowing to determine the most important issues related to the lack of acceptance of this preparation. Aim The aim of this study was to find out the social opinion regarding vaccination against Covid-19 (including the aspect of vaccination obligation, incidence of adverse post-vaccination reactions, vaccination among children and pregnant women) as well as the reasons for the attitude towards the fact of accepting the vaccine or rejecting the possibility of being vaccinated. Material and methods The study was conducted in a group of 510 people - practicing the medical profession and not related to the health service, who were over 18 years old. The method of a diagnostic survey was used with the use of a proprietary questionnaire containing single and multiple choice questions, the survey was conducted on-line using a Google form in October 2022. Results In the study group, the vaccination rate was 62.2%, women and medical professionals were more likely to be vaccinated. The decision to be vaccinated was mainly based on the desire to protect themselves against the severe course of a possible illness - 30.4% of respondents and to protect themselves and others against Covid-19 - 26.5%. In the represented group, unvaccinated persons accounted for 37.8% respectively, they did not decide to vaccinate mainly because of the belief that they were not protected against the disease - 19.8% of respondents, perceiving COVID-19 as a seasonal infection - 19.0%, and fear of long-term complications - 18.6%. The decision to vaccinate was accompanied by i.a. feelings such as: slight fear (36.3%), fear/anxiety (10.4%), strong fear/anxiety (3.7%). The study group was also asked about adverse post-vaccination reactions, 25.1% of the surveyed experienced complications, most of them did not report adverse post-vaccination reactions, and the percentage of reported cases was 1.6%. The vast majority of respondents - 74.5% were in favor of the lack of obligation to vaccinate. Opinions expressed about the safety of vaccinations: rather yes - 24%, rather not - 22% and definitely not - 21%, a significant part had no opinion - 24.3%. Conclusions This study confirms the significant problem of skepticism towards Covid-19 vaccination, as well as the high percentage of people expressing opposition to the obligation to vaccinate and the perception of the media campaign as propaganda, which confirms the existence of a significant social division regarding the acceptance of vaccination. The perception of vaccine safety is related to the knowledge of adverse post-vaccination reactions, but the problem observed among respondents is the fact that the number of reported adverse reactions is negligible