Question

What are the amounts of calories and protein received by a pregnant woman from the anganwadi worker?

• A. 300 calories, 15 gm protein
• B. 500 calories, 15 gm protein
• C. 300 calories, 25 gm protein
• D. 500 calories, 25 gm protein

Hint:

Under ICDS, a pregnant woman gets more protein per day than a young child gets, because pregnancy raises protein need sharply.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The anganwadi worker, under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, gives supplementary nutrition to pregnant women, lactating mothers, and young children through the anganwadi centre. We need the calorie and protein amount fixed for a pregnant woman under the norms used for this exam.

Step 2: Key Concept:
ICDS lays down fixed daily supplementation targets for each beneficiary group (children 6 months to 3 years, children 3 to 6 years, severely malnourished children, and pregnant and lactating women), and the amount is higher for pregnant and lactating women than for young children because of the extra demand of pregnancy.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Under the norms this question is based on, a pregnant woman is given supplementary nutrition worth 500 calories and 25 gm of protein per day through the anganwadi worker.
This is higher than the amount given to a normal preschool child (500 calories, 12 to 15 gm protein) because pregnancy raises the protein need much more than it raises the plain calorie need.

Note: ICDS supplementation norms have been revised more than once since this exam was set in 2001 (later revisions set different exact figures for pregnant and lactating women), so a current-day figure quoted in a newer textbook may differ slightly from the value used in this answer key. The answer kept here matches the reference this paper's key was built on.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The amount given to a pregnant woman is 500 calories and 25 gm protein, so option (D) is correct.