Witte Paul, Pradella Fabienne, van Ewijk Reyn
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Department of Business and Economics, Chair of Statistics and Econometrics, Jakob-Welder-Weg 4, Mainz, Germany.
Heidelberg Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, Heidelberg, Germany.
J Migr Health. 2025 Jul 25;12:100349. doi: 10.1016/j.jmh.2025.100349. eCollection 2025.
Germany and other Western countries are home to a growing number of Muslims. This implies that health-related behaviors more common among Muslims are becoming increasingly important in routine healthcare. For example, Ramadan during pregnancy has been shown to be associated with adverse offspring health outcomes along the life course. At the same time, a high share of pregnant Muslims worldwide chooses to fast. In this study, we investigate the dynamics underlying Ramadan fasting during pregnancy in Germany, using survey data (N=326) of Muslims delivering after being pregnant during a Ramadan. In this sample, 36.5 % of women fasted during their recent pregnancy, for an average of 17 days. Respondents generally did not regard fasting during pregnancy as obligatory and women tended to make their own, independent decisions about whether to fast. Most women did not expect fasting to be associated with impaired offspring health, even though many women actively searched for information on Ramadan during pregnancy. They often did so on the internet or by talking to family and friends. Only about one-third of women consulted with their prenatal caregiver about fasting. These consultations were associated with a reduction in days fasted by about 11 days. A sensitization of healthcare providers to Ramadan during pregnancy, and routinely addressing the issue with Muslim families of reproductive age can have important public health benefits.
德国和其他西方国家的穆斯林人数日益增加。这意味着穆斯林中更常见的与健康相关的行为在日常医疗保健中变得越来越重要。例如，孕期经历斋月已被证明与后代一生的不良健康结果有关。与此同时，全球很大一部分怀孕的穆斯林选择禁食。在本研究中，我们利用在斋月期间怀孕后分娩的穆斯林的调查数据（N = 326），调查了德国孕期斋月禁食背后的动态情况。在这个样本中，36.5%的女性在最近一次怀孕时禁食，平均禁食17天。受访者一般不认为孕期禁食是必须的，女性倾向于自行独立决定是否禁食。大多数女性并不认为禁食会对后代健康有不良影响，尽管许多女性在孕期积极搜索有关斋月的信息。她们经常通过互联网或与家人朋友交谈来获取信息。只有约三分之一的女性就禁食问题咨询过产前护理人员。这些咨询使禁食天数减少了约11天。提高医疗保健提供者对孕期斋月的认识，并定期与育龄穆斯林家庭讨论这个问题，可能会带来重要的公共卫生益处。
