Women’s consumption of probiotic food; The example of yogurt and kefir

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the relationship between pregnancy, women's knowledge level, and consumption of probiotic foods.

Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out with the participation of 560 pregnant (n:280) and non-pregnant (n:280) women who applied to the Gynecology and Obstetrics polyclinic at a university hospital between June and August 2017. Data were collected using a data collection form developed by the researchers based on relevant scholarly literature.

Results: The two groups (pregnant and non-pregnant women) were similar in average age and educational level. Of the participants, 59.1% knew the term probiotics. The rates of knowing the term probiotics (p: 0.001), recognizing kefir as a type of probiotic food, and consuming kefir as a probiotic food (p: 0.001) were higher in non-pregnant women than in pregnant women at a statistically significant level (p<0.01). Women consumed probiotic foods mostly for problems in the digestive system (87%) and strengthening the immune system (74.1%). Not knowing what probiotic meant was the most common reason (22%) for not consuming probiotic foods.

Discussion: Of the participants, 59.1% knew the term probiotics. Non-pregnant women's rate of knowing the term probiotics (67.9%) was statistically higher than that of the pregnant women (50.4%) (p: 0.001; p<0.01). In sum, some pregnant women did not know the term probiotics. In the scholarly literature, there are no studies on pregnant women's consumption and knowledge level of probiotic foods. Most of the studies' sample groups were students. Findings of all these studies show that the most significant reason for not consuming probiotic foods was not having the sufficient knowledge about probiotics. Considering the positive effects of probiotic foods on health, increasing the consumption of probiotics could contribute to a healthy pregnancy. In Turkey, we need to determine pregnant women's knowledge of probiotic foods to initiate and popularize the consumption of probiotics.

Conclusion: Findings of this study indicated that pregnant women did not have sufficient knowledge of the term probiotics. Pregnancy is the ideal period for women to develop behavior that protects and improve both their own and their babies' health. For this reason, raising awareness on and motivating pregnant women toward probiotic food consumption are significant.