Abstract
Background: Low birth weight (LBW) remains a serious global public health challenge, with more than 20 million babies born annually. Although maternal nutritional status during pregnancy is a major determinant of LBW, desirable perceptions and knowledge do not always lead to appropriate nutritional behavior without adequate health motivation. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the role of health motivation in pregnant women’s perceptions of nutritional compliance behaviors for LBW prevention.
Study Design: A cross-sectional study.
Methods: This study was conducted among 220 pregnant women, selected using cluster random sampling. The required data were collected through a validated questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model construct, covering perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, health motivation, and nutritional compliance behavior among pregnant women as an effort to prevent LBW. Eventually, path analysis was processed using AMOS 29.
Results: Perceived susceptibility (Z=0.2866; P=0.009), perceptions of benefits (Z=0.443; P=0.001), and perceptions of barriers (Z=-2.938, P=0.003) had a significant indirect effect on the nutritional compliance behavior of pregnant women. However, perceived severity exerted no significant indirect impact on pregnant women’s nutritional compliance behavior (Z=1.787, P=0.074) through healthy motivation. The study model demonstrated excellent fit (χ²=0.295, RMSEA=0.000, CFI=1.000, TLI=1.026, RMR=0.187).
Conclusion: In general, health motivation is an important mediator in bridging perceptions to actual actions because it builds and strengthens the motivation of pregnant women through a more personal, communicative, and experience-based approach.