Purpose : In Lao Peopleʼs Democratic Republic（Laos）, which is located in the South East Asia, mothers
are suffering from malnutrition. One of the causes of maternal malnutrition in Laos is the practice of food
restriction in the mother's diet during the postpartum period. The community still believes in restricting
the motherʼs diet in the postpartum period. The purpose of this study was to identify effective interventions
to change mothersʼ behaviour relating to adequate diet in order to address maternal malnutrition
in Laos.
Methods : Three approaches aimed at changing the eating habits of Laotian women in the postpartum
period were introduced and evaluated to ascertain whether they are feasible in Laos. These approaches
are participatory, health education, and mass media. An option appraisal tool was used to evaluate the
technical effectiveness, organisational feasibility, gender-cultural and political feasibility, and financial
feasibility and sustainability of the approaches.
Results : The results indicated that the participatory approach was effective in improving mothersʼ habits
when there were sufficient human resources in the community to facilitate the discussion. In terms
of health education approach, Laotian mothers showed a positive change in their diet behaviour, when
at least one village health volunteer was available to disseminate correct information. The mass media
approach also effectively changed the mothersʼ dietary habits when the message broadcasted was consistent
with the government policy.
Conclusions : The results indicate that health education delivered by trained health workers or village
health volunteers could be the best approach to changing maternal eating habits in the postpartum period,
except in rural villages with ethnic minorities. Additionally, the health education approach can be
significant if it is combined with other interventions using mass media.