Association of Food Taboos and Pica with Dietary Patterns among Pregnant Women in Public Hospitals in Rawalpindi

Abstract

Background: Pregnant women's diets influenced by food taboos & pica practices. These stem from cultural, religious, and traditional beliefs, impacting health. Objectives: Study aimed to find out association of food taboos and pica with dietary patterns in pregnant women in public hospitals in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Rawalpindi's public hospitals, involving 139 pregnant women chosen through non-probability consecutive sampling. SPSS version 26.0 was used for data entry and analysis. Association between sociodemographic factors, food taboos, pica, and dietary patterns in pregnant women was assessed. A significance level of p < 0.05 was used. Results: More than half of the respondents aged 20-30 years (n=89, 64%). It was noted that 58% respondents (n= 81) did not know about food taboos. Fifty-six women (40%) reported to avoid some food items during pregnancy due to multiple reasons. Nearly 49% women (n= 68) were unaware about pica and 45% women (n= 63) reported to take non food items during pregnancy. Overall, it was noted that women with poor dietary practices were slightly more in number (n= 72, 58%) as compared to those with good dietary practices. Dietary practices were significantly associated with education of women, education of husband, income, and residence (p<0.05). while source of nutritional information, whether food avoided during pregnancy or not and type of food avoided during pregnancy were also significantly associated with dietary practices among pregnant women (p<0.05). v Conclusion: Poor dietary practices were slightly more common than good practices in pregnant women. Food taboos significantly affect dietary habits, while pica not significantly associated with dietary intake. Keywords: Antenatal care, Dietary practices, Food taboos, Pica, Pregnant women, Public hospitals, Rawalpindi.