Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, P. O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Habib Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Islamic University in Uganda, P. O. Box 7689, Kampala, Uganda.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2024 May 2;20(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s13002-024-00682-z.
Food taboos and cultural beliefs among pregnant and breast-feeding women influence their food consumption patterns and hence the health of women and unborn children. Cognizant of their neglect in programs aimed to ameliorate hidden hunger among pregnant and breast-feeding women in Buyende and other resource-poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa, we opted for a study to unravel them to inform program design.
We documented food taboos and beliefs amongst pregnant and breast-feeding women from six sub-counties of Buyende district in Eastern Uganda. A mixed-methods approach was used, which was comprised of questionnaire interviews with 462 women, eight focus group discussions with 6-10 participants in each and a total of 15 key informant interviews.
The present study revealed that 129 (27.9%) of the respondents practice food taboos and adhere to cultural beliefs related to their dietary habits during pregnancy and breast-feeding that are fuelling the prevalence of hidden hunger. The most tabooed foods during pregnancy were sugarcane (17.8%), fishes which included lung fish, catfish and the Lake Victoria sardine (Rastrineobola argentea) (15.2%), oranges (6.6%), pineapples (5.9%), eggs (3.3%), chicken (3.3%) and cassava, mangoes and Cleome gynandra (each at 3%). Most foods were avoided for reasons associated with pregnancy and labour complications and undesirable effects on the baby. Most women learnt of the taboos and beliefs from the elders, their own mother, grandparents or mother-in-law, but there was also knowledge transmission in social groups within the community.
The taboos and cultural beliefs in the study area render pregnant and breast-feeding women prone to micronutrient deficiency since they are denied consumption of a diversity of nutritious foods. There is a need to educate such women about consumption of nutrient-rich foods like fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables in order to improve their health, that of the unborn and children being breast fed. Additionally, culturally appropriate nutrition education may be a good strategy to eliminate inappropriate food taboos and beliefs with negative impact on the health of pregnant and breast-feeding women.
孕妇和哺乳期妇女的饮食禁忌和文化信仰影响了她们的食物消费模式，进而影响了她们和未出生婴儿的健康。我们意识到在布温迪和撒哈拉以南非洲其他资源匮乏社区为改善孕妇和哺乳期妇女隐性饥饿而开展的项目中忽视了这些禁忌和信仰，因此选择开展这项研究，以揭示这些禁忌和信仰，为项目设计提供信息。
我们记录了乌干达东部布温迪区六个分区的孕妇和哺乳期妇女的饮食禁忌和信仰。采用混合方法，包括对 462 名妇女进行问卷调查访谈、每组 6-10 名参与者进行 8 次焦点小组讨论，以及总共进行 15 次关键知情人访谈。
本研究显示，129 名（27.9%）受访者在怀孕期间和哺乳期遵循饮食禁忌和文化信仰，这些禁忌和信仰导致隐性饥饿流行。怀孕期间最忌讳的食物是甘蔗（17.8%）、肺鱼、鲶鱼和维多利亚湖沙丁鱼（Rastrineobola argentea）（15.2%）、橙子（6.6%）、菠萝（5.9%）、鸡蛋（3.3%）、鸡肉（3.3%）和木薯、芒果和臭荠（各 3%）。大多数食物被避免是因为与妊娠和分娩并发症以及对婴儿的不良影响有关。大多数妇女从长辈、自己的母亲、祖父母或岳母那里了解到这些禁忌和信仰，但在社区内的社会团体中也有知识传播。
研究区域的禁忌和文化信仰使孕妇和哺乳期妇女容易出现微量营养素缺乏，因为她们被禁止食用多种营养丰富的食物。有必要教育这些妇女食用富含营养的食物，如鱼类、鸡蛋、水果和蔬菜，以改善她们的健康状况、未出生婴儿和正在哺乳的婴儿的健康状况。此外，适当的文化营养教育可能是消除对孕妇和哺乳期妇女健康有负面影响的不适当饮食禁忌和信仰的良好策略。
