<![CDATA[Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) among pregnant women remains a significant maternal health concern that contributes to elevated risks of anemia, low birth weight, prematurity, and suboptimal neonatal outcomes. Nutritional behavior change in pregnant women is determined not solely by the availability of information, but also by the quality of counselling interaction between midwives and their clients. This study aimed to analyze the association between the quality of midwife counselling interactions and nutritional behavior among pregnant women with CED. The research method employs an observational design with a cross-sectional approach.. A purposive sample of 40 pregnant women with CED was recruited from primary healthcare centers (Puskesmas) in Palopo City. Data were collected using validated questionnaires assessing counselling interaction quality and nutritional behavior, and were analyzed using the Spearman's rank correlation test. The results of the study showed that the median score for the quality of counselling interactions was 69.0, while the median score for nutritional behaviour among pregnant women with CED was 67.0. Spearman’s correlation test showed a significant positive relationship between the quality of counselling interactions and nutritional behaviour (r = 0.543; p < 0.001). This study concludes that the quality of midwife counselling interaction plays a pivotal role in nutritional behavior change among pregnant women with CED. Therefore, interactive and empathetic nutritional counselling should be embedded within comprehensive antenatal care, aligned with CED management programmes such as supplementary feeding, iron tablet supplementation, and ongoing support.]]>
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