Food taboos among pregnant women in Hadiya Zone, Ethiopia.
Date
1998Author
Tsegaye, Demissie
Nelson, Muroki
Kogi-Makau, Wamboi
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A cross-sectional study assessing the prevalence of food taboos during pregnancy, types
of foods prohibited and the associations of some of the socioeconomic parameters to food taboos,
was carried out in Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Two hundred ninety five healthy pregnant
women who attended an antenatal clinic for routine check-up between February and May 1995,
were included in the study. A questionnaire consisting of socioeconomic information, food taboo
practice, types of foods avoided and reasons for avoidance was administered by trained nurses.
The results indicate that a little over a quarter of them (27%) avoided at least one type of food due
to food taboos. Milk and cheese were regarded as taboo foods by nearly half of the women
(44.4%) followed by linseed and fatty meat (16% 11.1% respectively). The reasons for avoiding
foods include fear of difficult delivery (51%), discoloration of the fetus (20%) and fear of abortion
(9.7%). Among the few socioeconomic variables studied, education and income were found to
influence food taboos (P<0.05). The findings underscore the importance of education and income
in improving maternal nutrition, through changing food habits and increasing purchasing power of
the mothers.
Ethiop. J. Health Dev.
1998;12(1):45-49]
URI
http://profiles.uonbi.ac.ke/wkogi/publications/tsegaye-d-muroki-nm-and-kogi-makau-wambui-food-taboos-among-pregnant-women-hadiyahttp://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/37480
Citation
Wambui, Prof Kogi Makau-. 1998. Tsegaye, D., Muroki, N.m. And Kogi-makau, Wambui. Food Taboos Among Pregnant Women In Hadiya Zone, Ethiopia. Ethiop. J. Health Dev.: 12(1):45-49.. Paper Presented At The Inaugural National Nutrition Congress. 21st-23rd February 2005Publisher
University of Nairobi, Department of food and nutrition,