[Nutrition of pregnant. Comparative analysis based on data from a survey of residents of Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan (on the example of Astrakhan and Baku)].

Poor nutrition of the expectant mother leads to an unfavorable course of pregnancy and a number of serious deviations in the development of the child. Therefore, a multifaceted study of the actual nutrition of a pregnant woman is relevant, including the identification of trends associated with geographical, ethnic, and family characteristics. The study was aimed at conducting a comparative analysis of the nutrition of pregnant women from two cities, Astrakhan (Russian Federation) and Baku (Republic of Azerbaijan), by means of a questionnaire. Material and methods . In the course of a voluntary anonymous survey in 2022, 432 women aged 18-50 years old in the II trimester of pregnancy, living in Baku (n=280, group 1) and Astrakhan (n=152, group 2) have been interviewed. The answers of the respondents were analyzed in terms of eating habits, frequency of intake and food repertoire. Results . An analysis of the nutrition of pregnant women from both cities showed that it is unbalanced in terms of a set of products. Significant violations of the diet were noted in women from both studied groups, for example, a reduction in its multiplicity to two times a day (in group 1 - 2.5% and in group 2 - 7.2%). When conducting a comparative analysis of the nutrition of expectant mothers using the Pearson χ-square contingency coefficient, it was found that the groups had no significant differences in the consumption of milk and dairy products, meat and meat products, fish and seafood. Meat and meat products were used daily by no more than 31% of the surveyed, milk and dairy products - 43%, about half of pregnant women didn't consume fish and seafood. A relationship was established between the frequency of fruit consumption and the city of residence of pregnant women, in Baku women consumed fruits more often. In both groups, the abuse of confectionery and sugar was noted, some women already suffered from diabetes (5.4% from Astrakhan and 0.7% from Baku). Digestive pathology was detected in group 1 - in 11.2% (17), in group 2 - in 29.3% (79) of pregnant women. When conducting a comparative analysis of the frequency of consumption of undesirable products (mayonnaise, sauces, chips, carbonated drinks), it turned out that the groups were homogeneous, no connection with the city of residence was established. During pregnancy, 40.1 and 45.0% of women from 1 and 2 groups, respectively, took vitamin-mineral complexes. The level of vitamin D in the blood serum was determined by 29.6 and 6.8% of the respondents, respectively. A comparative analysis of the content of vitamin D in blood serum, determined respectively in 29.6 and 6.8% of respondents, showed that the groups of subjects were homogeneous, no connection of vitamin D level with the city of residence was found. Conclusion . In general, all the peculiarities of pregnant women's nutrition identified in the course of the survey can lead to an imbalance in the diet in terms of nutrient content, a deficiency of complete proteins, vitamins, and trace elements with excessive consumption of carbohydrates. When conducting a comparative analysis, it was possible to identify differences in the diet of pregnant women, relating only to the consumption of fruits - some respondents from Astrakhan consumed fruits less than once a week. Common unfavorable factors for pregnant women of both groups were the abuse of "undesirable" products, flour products and sugar, as well as the lack of involvement of women in the examination to assess the body's vitamin D supply and the rare prescription of vitamin-mineral complexes by specialists to correct micronutrient deficiencies.