Issue Description


Authors : shashikant Rokade

Page Nos : 9-25

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

Date of Online: 30 Sep 2013