From 2010-14, only 55% of pregnant women received an adequate amount of prenatal care throughout their pregnancy (KY Health Facts). In addition, from 2011-13, 13.2% of babies weighed less than 5.5 pounds at birth (Kids County Data Center). The Lawrence County Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) assistant partnered with the Addiction Recovery Center to offer Healthy Choices for Every Body curriculum to pregnant women at a local addiction recovery housing center. The directors were looking for a series that would address nutrition for better health given additional risk factors from substance abuse.  

The EFNEP assistant enrolled and graduated eight pregnant women.  A series of seven required lesson were presented, as well as lessons specifically for pregnant women. Each participant learned how to plan and serve more nutritious meals, shop with a grocery list, properly use nutrition fact labels, and the importance of eating breakfast. As a result, 100% of participants showed improvement with a positive food change; 100% of participants planned meals in advance more often and used the “Nutrition Facts” on food labels to make food choices. Also, 88% followed the recommended practices of not thawing food at room temperature, 88% prepared food without adding salt, and 88% reported their children ate breakfast more often.