Authors : M.M.Joharapurkar, Rekha Sharma
Page Nos : 1-7
Description :
Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding times in a woman’s life.
Although it is a normal physiological process but it is a time when the nutritional needs
of the mother and the fetus must be met through careful choice of foods. Even before
pregnancy begins, nutrition is a primary factor in the health of mother and baby. A
well-balanced diet before conception contributes to a healthy pregnancy. All societies
have traditional beliefs regarding harmful and beneficial foods for women during
pregnancy. There are also beliefs regarding the optimal amount of food to be taken
during pregnancy for a successful reproductive outcome. These beliefs may or may not
conform to the modern biomedical notions about the proper types and amount
safeguard maternal nutrition, adequate growth of fetus and safe delivery. 285 pregnant
mothers attending private maternity homes (PMH) and 215 attending government
medical hospital (GMH) in their last trimester were selected through purposive
sampling. Data was collected using interview cum questionnaire method. The
questionnaire was divided into two parts. In the first part it had questions related to
demographic profile of pregnant women and in the second part the questions related to
special foods consumed and avoided during pregnancy were asked. Data was analyzed
using Mean, Standard Deviation and Chi-square test. Results of the study revealed that
68.06% PMH and 27.45% GMH mothers were consuming special foods during
pregnancy. 56.49 % PMH mothers and 44.66% GMH mothers avoided certain foods
during pregnancy due to several reasons. Papaya was found to be avoided by 40.00 %
PMH and 28.37 % GMH mothers. The consumption of green leafy vegetables (c2 =12.72,
P<0.01), dry fruits (c2=29.28, P<0.01), Sprouts (c2 =12.98, P<0.01) were found to be
significantly higher among PMH mothers. The GMH mothers not consuming any special
foods (c2 =80.93, P <0-01) were also significantly higher than PMH mothers. The
consumption of papaya was found to be significantly avoided by higher number of PMH
mothers.
Key words: Misconceptions, Pregnancy, Special foods, Taboos
