Department of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Helen Keller International Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Matern Child Nutr. 2023 Jul;19(3):e13517. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13517. Epub 2023 Apr 5.
Food taboos encompass food restrictions practiced by a group that go beyond individual preferences. During pregnancy and lactation, food taboos may contribute to inadequate nutrition and poor maternal and infant health. Restriction of specific fish, meat, fruits and vegetables is common among peripartum women in many Southeast Asian countries, but data from Cambodia are lacking. In this mixed-methods study, 335 Cambodian mothers were asked open-ended questions regarding dietary behaviours during pregnancy and up to 24 weeks postpartum. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to characterize food taboos and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of this practice. Participants were 18-44 years of age, all of Khmer ethnicity and 31% were primiparous. Sixty-six per cent of women followed food taboos during the first 2 weeks postpartum, whereas ~20% of women restricted foods during other peripartum periods. Pregnancy taboos were often beneficial, including avoidance of sugar-sweetened beverages, coffee and alcohol. Conversely, postpartum avoidances typically included nutrient-dense foods such as fish, raw vegetables and chicken. Food taboos were generally followed to support maternal and child health. No significant predictors of food taboos during pregnancy were identified. Postpartum, each additional live birth a woman had reduced her odds of following food taboos by 24% (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.76 [0.61-0.95]). Specific food taboo practices and rationales varied greatly between women, suggesting that food taboos are shaped less by a strict belief system within the Khmer culture and more by individual or household understandings of food and health during pregnancy and postpartum.
食物禁忌是指一个群体所遵循的食物限制，这些限制超出了个人偏好。在怀孕和哺乳期，食物禁忌可能导致营养不足和母婴健康状况不佳。在许多东南亚国家，围产期妇女普遍限制食用某些鱼类、肉类、水果和蔬菜，但柬埔寨缺乏相关数据。在这项混合方法研究中，335 名柬埔寨母亲被问及有关怀孕期间和产后 24 周内饮食行为的开放式问题。使用描述性统计和内容分析来描述食物禁忌，并进行多因素逻辑回归分析以确定这种做法的预测因素。参与者年龄在 18-44 岁之间，均为高棉族，31%为初产妇。66%的女性在产后头 2 周遵循食物禁忌，而约 20%的女性在其他围产期限制食物。孕期禁忌通常是有益的，包括避免含糖饮料、咖啡和酒精。相反，产后避免的食物通常包括营养丰富的食物，如鱼、生蔬菜和鸡肉。食物禁忌通常是为了支持母婴健康。在孕期没有发现食物禁忌的显著预测因素。产后，女性每增加一次活产，其遵循食物禁忌的可能性就会降低 24%（比值比[95%置信区间]：0.76[0.61-0.95]）。不同女性的具体食物禁忌做法和理由差异很大，这表明食物禁忌的形成较少受到高棉文化中严格的信仰体系的影响，而更多地受到个人或家庭在孕期和产后对食物和健康的理解的影响。
