Association of Food Taboos and Pica with Dietary Patterns in Pregnant Women

To find out the association of food taboos and pica with dietary patterns in pregnant women.

A cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of the Study: Al-Shifa School of Public Health, Al-Shifa Eye Trust Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from April to September 2023.

Pregnant women were selected through a non-probability consecutive sampling. The Chi-square test was applied to determine the association between dietary practices and pica, food taboos, and socio-demographic characteristics of pregnant women.

Out of 139 pregnant women, the majority were between the age of 20 and 30 years (n = 89, 64%). It was noted that 58% of respondents (n = 81) did not know about food taboos. Fifty-six women (40%) reported avoiding some food items during pregnancy for multiple reasons. Nearly 49% women (n = 68) were unaware of pica, and 45% women (n = 63) were reported taking non-food items during pregnancy. Overall, it was noted that women with poor dietary practices were higher (n = 72, 58%) as compared to those with good dietary practices. Dietary practices were significantly associated with the educational, income, and residential status of women and their husbands (p <0.05). Sources of nutritional information, food avoided during pregnancy, and the types of foods avoided during pregnancy were also significantly associated with dietary practices among pregnant women (p <0.05).

Poor dietary practices were slightly more common than good practices in pregnant women. Food taboos significantly affect dietary habits, while pica is not significantly associated with dietary intake.

Dietary practices, Food taboos, Pica, Pregnant women, Public hospitals.