Knowledge of Ethnobotany, Conservaton and Health Benefits of Indigenous Leafy Vegetables Species among Pregnant Women Attending Health Centers in Ondo West Local Government Area, Ondo State

Abstract

The study investigated the knowledge of ethno-botany, conservation and health benefits of indigenous leafy vegetables species among pregnant women attending health centers in Ondo West Local Government Area, Ondo State. Three specific objectives with three corresponding research questions and two null hypothesies guided the study. A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the study.The population for the study was 3,500 pregnant women attending the healthcare centers in the study area. The proportionate sampling techniques was used to select 420 pregnant women. The Instrument for data collection was the researcher designed “Knowledge of Ethno-botany, Conservation and Health Benefits of Indigenous Leafy Vegetables Species Questionnaire”. Frequencies and percentages were used to answer all the research questions while chi- square statistic were used to test null hypotheses at 0.05. The findings revealed that pregnant women possessed (AK) average knowledge (57.1%) and (HK) high knowledge (70.2%) of ethno-botany of indigenous leafy vegetables. Chi-square statistic indicated that there was no significant different in the knowledge of ethno-botany and conservation of indigenous leafy vegetables among pregnant women based on the level of education and age. The study recommended that child bearing women and pregnant women needed to be educated on the importance of knowledge of ethnobotany, conservation and health benefits involved in the consumptions of indigenous leafy Vegetables and frequent antinatal visits during pregnancy so that they can have more knowledge on their nutritional health status in order to give birth to healthy baby.