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. 2024 Mar 9;16(6):781.
doi: 10.3390/nu16060781.

Food Choice and Dietary Perspectives of Young, Urban, Black Pregnant Women: A Focus Group Study

Tristesse Catessa Jasmin Burton  1 , Natasha Crooks  2 , Lacey Pezley  3 , Nefertiti OjiNjideka Hemphill  3 , Yanqiao Li  2 , Arissara Sawatpanich  2   4 , Vanessa Farrow  2 , Katherine Erbe  5 , Nicollette Kessee  3 , Luecendia Reed  6 , Lisa Tussing-Humphreys  3 , Mary Dawn Koenig  2
Affiliations

Food Choice and Dietary Perspectives of Young, Urban, Black Pregnant Women: A Focus Group Study

Tristesse Catessa Jasmin Burton et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Black pregnant women in Chicago are disproportionately affected by maternal morbidity and mortality and are more likely to reside in neighborhoods that experience greater economic hardships and food apartheid than any other race/ethnicity. Addressing social determinants of health such as structural inequities, economic environment, and food apartheid issues may provide insights into eliminating Black maternal morbidity and mortality disparities. This study explores food choice determinants and dietary perspectives of young, urban, Black pregnant women. Two audio-recorded focus groups were conducted in Chicago, IL between March 2019 and June 2019 to discuss pregnancy experiences and factors affecting maternal nutrition. Thematic analysis was used to identify the codes, themes, and subthemes of the data. Data analysis was guided by the Social Ecological Model (SEM) as a theoretical framework. Eleven, young, Black women were recruited. Three major themes were discussed across the SEM levels that influenced food choice including food access, stress and family influences on eating, and the need for nutritional education during pregnancy. These choices were primarily rooted in the detrimental effects of food apartheid experienced within the participants' neighborhoods. Therefore, acknowledging, understanding, and addressing food apartheid and its impact on Black maternal health disparities is needed in clinical practice, research, and policy change.

Keywords: Black women; Chicago; food apartheid; food choice; food desert; pregnancy; social determinants of health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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