An appropriate eating behavior and proper nutrient intake will supply adequate nourishment to achieve optimum health for both a pregnant woman and her baby. However, Bangladesh women continue to suffer with maternal malnutrition that are among the highest in the world. This prospective correlational study aimed to examine the influence of family income, perceived benefits of healthy eating, perceived barriers to healthy eating, and perceived dietary self-efficacy on eating behavior among pregnant women in Rangpur, Bangladesh. A random sample of 82 pregnant women who visited antenatal care clinic of a hospital in Rangpur was recruited in the study. Data were collected using structured interview questionnaires.

               Results revealed that, mean score of eating behavior was at a relatively high level. Family income, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and perceived dietary self-efficacy together explained 90.4% of variance of eating behavior (F[4, 77] =181.336, p < .001). Perceived dietary self-efficacy and perceived barriers to healthy eating were significantly predictors of eating behavior (β = .84, p < .001and β = -.15, p < .01 respectively). The findings suggested a need to design effective nursing intervention to enhance perceived self-efficacy and to decrease perceived barriers in order to improve eating behavior among Bangladeshi pregnant women.

 Keywords: eating behavior,  perceived benefits,  perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy,   

                    Bangladeshi pregnant women