Pregnant women have also expressed concern
regarding their doctors’ level of nutritional knowledge
and felt doctors did not have adequate time to
discuss nutrition concerns. Many indicated materials
they received at the doctors’ offices were not detailed
enough to meet their needs. Begley (2000) suggests
there is a lack of consistent education on nutrition for
pregnant women and there is a need to design and
implement new more effective nutrition programs.
Most physicians and their patients understand that
proper nutrition during pregnancy is important,
but many are not aware of specific recommendations
and how to achieve these behaviors. In many
cases, healthcare providers simply tell women to eat
a healthy diet and gain appropriate weight during
pregnancy. However, to achieve this, healthcare providers
need to give women the tools and direction to
do so properly (Vause, Martz, Richard, & Gralich,
2006)