A STUDY ON HEALTH AWARENESS DURING PREGNANCY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CHAMARAJANAGARA DISTRICT

Pregnancy is the period in the life of an adult woman, lasting approximately nine months, during which the fetus, i.e., the baby, grows inside her body. Certain physiological changes occur in a woman's body to support the growing fetus. The fetus obtains all the necessary nutrients for its growth from the mother's body through the placenta. Therefore, pregnancy is a period characterized by morphological, anatomical, and physiological changes accompanied by high nutritional requirements. The objective of this study was to identify and analyze health awareness during pregnancy in the Chamarajanagara district. The research methodology employed in this study was purposive, and the researcher has over 10 years of experience in the Department of Social Work at Chamarajanagara University, Suvarnagangotri, Chamarajanagara. The study results indicated that pregnant women provided information on their highest educational qualifications, emphasizing the importance of food for the health of both the pregnant woman and her baby. Consequently, pregnant women consume a significant amount of non-vegetarian food, and it was found that a healthy eating pattern is crucial for facilitating easy childbirth. This research has implications in terms of providing a better understanding of health awareness during pregnancy, formulating public policies, and establishing a foundation for the development of educational programs and health promotion initiatives aimed at enhancing health awareness during pregnancy.


INTRODUCTION
The unique nature of pregnancy is serious about the fact that at no other time is the well-being of another person dependent on it (Fletcher, 2016). The importance of nutrition in pregnancy is evident from the fact that maternal and foetal tissues are formed from nutrients that originated in the mother's diet or an individual environmental factor that determines the result of human pregnancy (Langley-Evans, 2015). The nutritional knowledge status of the pregnant woman during the early weeks of embryological development determines whether this continuing process will take place in a normal life style (Shankar et al., 2017).

Nutrition
Nutrition is the science of nourishing the body (Cameron, 2022). It is the relationship between man and his food, which includes not only physiological and biochemical aspects but also psychological and social dimensions. Nutrition is a wide term that is also concerned with the economic, cultural, and psychological implications of food and eating (Gostin & McNamara, 2023). Natural food fulfills all these functions. We need a variety of foods to meet the nutritional requirements of the body. In order to maintain the health of pregnant women, one needs a variety of foods (Maugliani & Baldi, 2023). So that all functions are performed well. Such a diet, called a balanced diet, is very important during pregnancy (Gueimonde et al., 2022). The foods are classified into three major categories depending upon the functions they perform (Young et al., 2020).

Foods for Energy
Foods for energy during pregnancy include cereals like wheat, rice, jowar, maize, and bajra, sugar and fats and oils like ghee, vegetable oil, butter and vanaspati (Piccoli et al., 2023). Foods for energy during pregnancy are very essential as energy is required for essential body functions (Thayer et al., 2020). Growth and physical activities. It is, therefore, important to include energy-giving foods in the daily diets of young children.

Foods for growth and maintenance
Proteins are required for the growth and maintenance of the body (Martins et al., 2021). Pregnant females and lactating mothers require additional amounts of protein for the proper growth and development of the foetus and infants (Elango & Ball, 2016). All legumes, pulses, peas, beans, and nuts are good sources of protein during pregnancy. Animal sources like milk and milk products, eggs, meat, fish, etc. are the rich sources of protein. Cereals also contain proteins in smaller amounts (Hughes et al., 2022).

Foods for protection against diseases
Certain foods are required for proper functioning and protection of the body. These foods contain important nutrients like minerals and vitamins (Domínguez Díaz et al., 2020). Inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals may lead to a number of deficiency disorders (Matthewman & Costa-Pinto, 2023). Importance of Nutrition: Pre Conception: a. The health of the newborn baby depends on the nutritional status of the mother. Nutritional mother before conception enters pregnancy with nutrients that can meet the needs of the growing foetus without affecting her health. b. Maternal nutrition plays a role in feto-placental unforced abortions, so modification is important before conception. c. Folic acid supplementation can be reduced because of a neural tube defect. d. Overweight mothers can have complicated pregnancies. The following risk factors exist: a. Low socioeconomic status. b. Low pre-pregnancy weight for height c. Biological immaturity; low weight gain during pregnancy d. Smoking, use of drugs, use of drugs, alcohol, etc. e. Infectious diseases, hypertension After Conception: a. A poorly nourished mother's placenta contains more fever and fewer cells than a well-nourished mother's placenta. b. This reduces the ability of the placenta to arrange the substances required. c. Poor diet during pregnancy is also very harmful to the mother's health. d. During pregnancy take risk also complications. e. Inadequate diet also affects the health of the baby during early infancy. Nutritional needs: a. A pregnant mother has to meet her own needs and the needs of her growing foetus. b. The nutrient needs are also increased in view of the development of maternal organs such as the uterus, placenta, and breast tissue, as well as the accumulation of body reserves to be utilized at the time of delivery and subsequently during lactation. c. Energy d. Proteins and essential fatty acids e. Carbohydrates The purpose of the study is together information on health awareness during pregnancy with special reference to Chamarajanagara district.

METHOD
The respondents for this study include students from the social work department at chamarajanagara university suvarnagangotri chamarajanagara and another rural participant. This research is based on purposive research where the researcher has prepared a selfconstructed questionnaire on Google form to find out the various parameters of health awareness during pregnancy with special reference to Chamarajanagara district.The questionnaire consists of seven statements that have multiple choice. The respondents had to fill the onemultiple-choice option in Google form.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The researcher has ten years of experience in teaching at chamarajanagara university, suvarnagangotri chamarajanagara. This experience created many questions about present postgraduate students and rural participants. Therefore, the aim of conducting this study is to gain knowledge of health awareness during pregnancy with special reference to Chamarajanagara district. Pregnant Women's Health awereness during pregnancy with special reference to Chamarajanagara district.

Figure 1. Educational Level
The table shows 40% of resondents saying that pregnant women are giving information about highest Qualisfication P.U.C. for pregnant women.

Figure 2. Food Source
The table shows 66.66% of respondents saying that food is very important to pregnant women and her baby health so pregnant women highly consume non vegitarian food.

Figure 3. Diet and Diseases
The table shows that 60 percentage of respondents saying that healthy diet is most needed to pregnant women easily delivery to baby and pregnant health so. The table shows that 33.33 percentage respondents consume fruits and vegetables. The table shows that 83.33 percentage respondents saying that dietary knowledge is needed/necessary like vitamins. Iron content , yoga and exercise and all.

CONCLUSION
The implication of this research is the importance of nutrition and nutritional knowledge for pregnant women in consuming healthy food and maintaining a good diet for the baby's health. As a basis for more intensive education and awareness about nutrition during pregnancy, the results of this research can be used to influence policy changes and programs related to nutrition and diet during pregnancy.