MISCONCEPTION IN THE BELIEF AND PATTERN OF FEEDING AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN

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MISCONCEPTION IN THE BELIEF AND PATTERN OF FEEDING AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN

ABSTRACT

A food considered as a taboo is strictly forbidden, for health, cultural or spiritual reasons. Food taboos are known from virtually all human societies and may be found in various forms all over the world. Pregnancy is viewed as a critical period in the life of women and is usually subjected to a number of food taboos as a way of safeguarding their lives and that of the unborn baby. Poor maternal nutrition, especially in rural settings, adversely affects pregnancy and birth outcomes. In many local communities, pregnant women have food taboos with consequent depletion of vital nutrients. Malnutrition is one of the most serious health problems affecting children and their mothers in Opobo Kingdom. As a result, there is lack of comprehensive information regarding practices and the factors associated with them in the study area. Therefore this study was aimed at measuring women who are likely to have certain taboos/misconceptions during pregnancy among pregnant women attending ANC services in public health institutions of Opobo Kingdom. Method: An institution based descriptive cross-sectional study design followed by Simple random sampling technique was used for 295 pregnant women, who are attending ANC service from public health institutions of Opobo Kingdom. The Data was coded, entered in to EPI info 3.5.1 and exported to SPSS version 20.0 for further analysis. Frequencies, percentages, crude odds Ratio, 95% Confidence Intervals and multiple logistic-regressions were analyzed. Finally, the result of the study was presented using texts, figures and tables. Result: one half (49.8%) of total pregnant mothers encountered food taboos at least for one food item. food items avoided were, linseed 92 times, honey 84 times, milk 67 times, fatty meat 63 times, eggs 50 times, fruits 41 times and vegetables 17 times.

Reasons mentioned for avoidance of this food item; Plastered on the fetal head, makes fatty baby and difficult delivery, fear of abortion, evil eye, fetal abnormality. Educational status showed a significant association with belief of balanced diet. Conclusion: The study revealed that food taboos and traditional beliefs relating to pregnancy exist and larger proportion of women still believes in old unscientific tales. This can be improved by strengthening the nutrition counseling component of ANC which was inadequate in the ANC package received. Empowering community based health workers in Opobo Kingdom and provide an effective nutrition counseling should be explored. There is a need for nutrition education and awareness generation among women; Increasing literacy status to reduce taboos/misconceptions.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Women and children are among the world most vulnerable in terms of unfavorable influences in the environment including insufficient nutrition, inadequate health care and poor education. In addition, Pregnancy brings those factors high risk for women. Since times immemorial the beneficial property of certain eatable items has been accepted. Dietary recommendations are being given by health organizations worldwide these days. Importance of diet and nourishment has been scientifically recognized by experts (Caplan, 1997). Whether rural or urban, People have their own beliefs and practices. Some are based on centuries of trial and error and have positive values while others may be useless or harmful.

Taboos and misconceptions during pregnancy have been part of Opobo Kingdom cultures since centuries. The avoidance of certain food items and incorrect knowledge regarding its benefits can deprive women from adequate nutrition. A balanced and adequate diet is therefore, of utmost importance during pregnancy and lactation to meet the increased needs of the mother, and to prevent “nutritional stress”. In various studies it was seen that pregnant women in various parts of the world are forced to abstain from nutritious foods as a part of their traditional food habits.

During pregnancy, the nutritional requirements of women increase to support optimum foetal growth and development. Poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy usually results in low birth weight and high pre-natal and infant mortality. Food taboos have been identified as one of the factors contributing to maternal under nutrition in pregnancy; especially in rural.

Good nutrition is important, but it assumes greater importance for women during their pre and post pregnancy period. During pregnancy nutritional needs are higher and meeting those needs will have a positive effect on the health of both the mother and her unborn baby. A pregnancy without negative effects of poor nutrition on the health is the best possible nutritional state. Nutrition deserves special attention during pregnancy and breastfeeding because of the high nutrient needs and the critical role of appropriate nutrition for the fetus and infant’s poor maternal diet could be a barrier to women’s health so, it must be maintained properly.

In under-nourished women, or adolescent mothers who are still growing, nutrients are preferentially partitioned to the mother, effectively protecting nutrient stores from fetal demand, so that fetal growth is compromised to a greater extent than maternal growth (Wallace et al. 2001).There are variable changes in BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) that may be, at least partially, related to pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). Women with the least increase in BMR tend to be thinner (Prentice1994), whereas fatter women tend to experience an increase in BMR (Prentice and Goldberg2000). Maternal activity tends to decrease in pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester, so energy is conserved, although in sedentary women the energy saving consequences of decreased activity is probably minimal.

The recommended energy intake for pregnant women is no extra energy requirement in the first trimester, 1400 kilojoules (kJ) or 340 kilocalories (kcal) extra energy per day for the second trimester and 1900 kJ (452 kcal) extra energy per day for the third trimester (NHMRC 2006).These recommendations for energy intakes are derived from the sum of the energy requirement of non-pregnant women, plus increments for average changes in energy expenditure, and for the energy content of the gain in fat mass in pregnancy (NHMRC 2006)

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem of malnutrition among pregnant women poses a great challenge to nutritionist and the health sector as well as to the government. Malnutrition of the mother does not just affect the pregnant woman only but also has a devastating effect on the foetus (unborn child). Malnutrition has ranked as the major cause of maternal mortality and it is a major determinant of a successful pregnancy and a healthy well nourished baby.

According to UNICEF (2009), each year, more than half a million women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Nearly 4 million newborns die within 28 days of birth. Millions more suffer from disability, disease, infection and injury. The lifetime risk of maternal death for a woman in a least developed country is more than 300 times greater than for a woman living in an industrialized country.

Africa and Asia account for 95 percent of the world’s maternal deaths, with particularly high burdens in Sub-Saharan Africa (50 percent of the global total) and South Asia (35 percent). These statistics above showed while it is important that the major avoidable causes of maternal mortality and adverse pregnancy outcome are eliminated by looking into the feeding practices of women due to their traditional belief and taboos and also to determine its effect on their nutritional status.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1. To examine the feeding pattern among pregnant women in Opobo Kingdom.

2. knowledge and attitude of pregnant women towards dietary practices in Opobo Kingdom.

3. To examine taboos and beliefs among pregnant & lactating women.

4. To examine the feed pattern and misconceptions among pregnant women in Opobo Kingdom.

5. To examine food superstition, feeding practices and nutritional anthropometry of pregnant women in Opobo Kingdom

6. To find out whether dietary belief affect the women food choices during pre and post-natal period.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION

1. What are pattern of feeding among pregnant women in Opobo Kingdom?

2. Do pregnant women in Opobo Kingdom have knowledge of dietary practices?

3. Does taboos and beliefs affect pregnant & lactating women?

4. Do pregnant women in Opobo Kingdom have misconceptions on feed pattern during pregnancy?

5. Does superstition, feeding practices and nutritional anthropometry affect pregnant women in Opobo Kingdom

6. Does dietary belief affect the women food choices during pre and post-natal period?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

H0: Taboos and beliefs does not affect pregnant & lactating women.

H1: Taboos and beliefs affect pregnant & lactating women.

H0: The misconceptions of pregnant women on feed pattern during pregnancy does not affect them.

H1: The misconceptions of pregnant women on feed pattern during pregnancy affect them.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The present study was designed to develop and determine the effect of nutrition education programme on food-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of women in Pankshin community. Data generated on nutritional knowledge would be beneficial to health educators, nutrition educators and health counselors. Health educators and nutrition educators would find the information on nutritional knowledge useful in sensitizing women on nutritional issues. This would create awareness among women. The data on nutrition knowledge would aid women in making informed decisions on nutritional issues. Women’s well informed decisions

would promote their health status, the health of the households and that of the community in general. Health counselors would find the information on knowledge useful in counseling women who possessed low level of nutritional knowledge. When women are well counseled on nutritional related issues, their knowledge would be

heightened thereby, giving them the empowerment to make informed decision in matters related to nutrition.

Findings on nutritional attitudes would be useful to women and family

households. Those negative nutritional attitudes which some women and household possessed that were injurious to their health and that of their households would be modified or altered after their negative effects were exposed. A change or modification from negative behaviours may curtail most of the nutritional disorders thereby promoting the health and nutritional status of households and the community.

Health educators would use the negative nutritional attitudes and publicize it as a weapon employed for sensitizing the vulnerable groups. When nutritional attitudes emanating from this study are published in reputable academic journals, they would enrich global data on the subject. This would help sensitize the public in general and women in particular, the negative nutritional attitudes that are injurious to health.

Data emanating from this study would unveil those nutritional beliefs that had over the years, subjected women to nutritional disadvantage as women have always been the victims of cultural and traditional food beliefs that negatively affect their well-being and imbibe acceptable nutritional beliefs that would promote their health and that of their households. In the same vein, demystifying the negative beliefs would aid women to take informed decisions against fallacious beliefs about food in connection with food taboos during pregnancy and lactation, as most of these beliefs are “old wives tale” and cannot be scientifically authenticated.

In the same vein, information on beliefs would be useful to consumers in general who had for a long time been enslaved by cultural food beliefs and taboos. They would be freed from their bondage when those unscientific beliefs which have been passed from generation to generation are proved to be fallacious. This will change consumer’s (particularly women who participated in the programme) beliefs and attitudes towards

the selection and consumption of foods.

The study also generated data on nutritional practices. Information on nutritional practices would help uncover those nutritional practices that are harmful to nutritional well-being. This could be used as a weapon by nutrition educators, health educators, nutritionists, home economists, agriculturists and dietitians for making a strong case through Nigeria Food Policy for repealing such nutritional practices that are dangerous to health. Based on information on food practice, Nigeria’s food policy makers would see the need to design food guide or formulate food policies that can make the teaching of nutrition education mandatory from primary school to tertiary institutions.

Nutritional practices that are injurious to the health of consumers would prompt or sensitize women’s forum in collaboration with associations of dietitians, nutritionists, home economists, health educators, nutrition educators and agriculturalists, to team up and persuade community leaders or elders who are the custodian of cultural practices or preservers of culture and customs on the dire need to review and if possible repeal those

cultural practices that are detrimental to health and nutritional status. This could be achieved through public education or workshops, seminars or face-to-face discussions with community leaders. Data generated would also serve as an innovation made within the existing framework of nutritional beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and practices of women.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study covered misconception in the belief and pattern of feeding among pregnant women using Opobo Kingdom as a case study.

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The only limitation faced by the researcher in the course of carrying out this study was the delay in getting data from the various respondents. Most respondents were reluctant in filling questionnaires administered to them due to their busy schedules and nature of their work. The researcher found it difficult to collect responses from the various respondents, and this almost hampered the success of this study.

1.9 DEFINITION TERMS

Food: Food is defined as any substance whether processed, semi-processed or raw which is intended for human consumption. This implies that food is both solid and liquid substance considered safe for human satisfaction of his body needs. Food is also defined as any thing liquid or sold material which when eaten and digested provides the body with needed nourishment.

Food culture taboos: The word taboo can be defined as restriction or prohibition of something. It may differ from culture to culture. The restrictions imposed on people forces them to abstain from certain food and drinking items as these things are embedded into the cultural and religious threads. According to Mintz & Du Bois (2002), taboos id defined as a set of rules and regulations which allows us to eat or avoid certain kind of eatable or drinking items.

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