Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region

Ekwochi, Uchenna; Osuorah, Chidiebere D. I.; Ndu, Ikenna K; Ifediora, Christian; Asinobi, Isaac Nwabueze; Eke, Christopher Bismark

doi:10.1186/s13002-016-0079-x

Cited by 86 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This result is in line with other findings from Hadya zone and Shashemene district of Ethiopia and South Eastern Nigeria that reported women's claim to difficult delivery as the result of increased size of the fetus due to consumption of nutritious foods [9,10,28,29]. This may be due to lack of knowledge on the need for weight gain during pregnancy for the health of the fetus and the mother.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Foods tabooed for pregnant women in Abala district of Afar region, Ethiopia: an inductive qualitative study

et al. 2017

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Background: Food taboo is contributing substantially to malnutrition for pregnant women by restricting and limiting the frequency and variety of foods most of which are nutritious and easily accessible. The practice is common in developing countries and most of the food taboos in East Africa fall on the women and most unfortunately on the pregnant. Foods of animal products, which are the main sources dietary energy of pastoralist communities, are often prone to the practice of food taboos. Nonetheless, the existence of the practice in Ethiopian pastoralist communities, the communities whose way of life is mostly nomadic and based on tending of herds or flocks, is not investigated yet. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore foods tabooed for pregnant women and the reasons behind the practice if exists in Abala district of Afar region, Ethiopia. Methods: Exploratory qualitative study was conducted inductively involving homogeneous participants in four focus group discussions and eight key informants in individual in-depth interview who were purposively selected in Aballa district from March 1 to 30, 2016. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect the data. The investigators audiotaped focus group discussions and interviews and then transcribed them verbatim. Finally, the transcribed data were imported to Atlas.ti 7 software for coding. Analysis was done inductively. Triangulation and peer debriefing were applied to assure data quality. Results: The study revealed that foods tabooed for pregnant women were 1) Eating a large amount of food of any type, 2) fatty foods like meat, milk and yoghurt, 3) Foods that are not in liquid form such as different types of bread and 4) cool/cold foods such as cold milk, cold meat and cold water. The reasons mentioned to adhere with the foods taboo for pregnant women were to avoid difficulty to deliver the fetus, to prevent disease like Gastritis, Diarrhea, Typhoid and skin discoloration of the fetus. Besides, inconveniences like abdominal cramp were reported as reasons to adhere the foods tabooed. Conclusions: Pregnant women in Aballa district avoid eating numerous accessible foods because the foods are believed as tabooed for them. Further studies that focus on the extent of food taboo and uncovering the understanding on how it is being practiced were recommended.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Foods tabooed for pregnant women in Abala district of Afar region, Ethiopia: an inductive qualitative study

et al. 2017

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“…The current study was in the same vein with (12), who reported that, most of the studied mothers denied eating egg to their children, as well it was in line with (13) who revealed that most of the studied mothers do not give egg to their children. The belief is that it leads children to theft when grow older.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Assessment of Socio-Cultural Factors Affecting Nigerian Mothers’ Weaning Practice

Ibrahim¹,

Raouf²,

Mouty³

et al. 2017

IOSR JNHS

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“…This nding is again supported by the ndings from the study in Ghana and Kenya that showed consumption of Eggs make the fetus large (18,19). This nding is again supported by the study nding from Nigeria where consumption of eggs is prohibited during pregnancy because it is feared that the children may develop bad habits after birth (4). The difference supports literature that indicates there is no single reason but several reasons for the belief and adherence to food taboos (20).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Food related taboos and misconceptions during pregnancy among rural communities of Illu Aba Bor Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Tsegaye

Tamiru

Belachew

2020

Preprint

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Background: Poor maternal nutrition adversely affects pregnancy and birth outcomes. In many societies, pregnant women have food taboos and misconceptions which consequently results in the depletion of vital nutrients. These cultural malpractices and beliefs can influence dietary intake of pregnant women which subsequently affects the birth outcome. This study aimed at exploring the extent of food taboos and misconceptions during pregnancy in rural communities of Illu Aba Bor Zone, Southwest Ethiopia.Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using in-depth interviews of key informants and focus group discussions among purposefully selected pregnant women and their husbands, elderly people, health workers and health extension workers. Data were transcribed verbatim, thematized; color coded and analyzed manually using the thematic framework method.Result: Thorough reading and review of the transcripts generated three major themes. The first theme was belief and practice of taboos related to the intake of certain food items during pregnancy. Pregnant women, their husbands and mothers- in- law believed that certain foods should be avoided during pregnancy. The second theme was foods that were held as taboo and the reason attached to the food taboos. The most common food items held as taboo were related to the consumption of vegetables like cabbage, pumpkin, milk and milk products, sugar cane, fruit like banana and avocado and egg and the main reasons to avoid these foods were a belief that it can be plastered on the fetal head, making fatty baby which is difficult for delivery. The third theme was the reasons underlying adherence to food taboos which is deeply embedded in the personal believes and attitudes of the pregnant women, who were nested within the influence of the social environment surrounding them and the traditional beliefs and values of the society in general.Conclusions: The results showed a widespread practice of food taboo during pregnancy in the study area. The finding suggested that there is a need for strengthening the nutrition counseling components of antenatal care follow-up and planning comprehensive nutrition education through involving important others to dispel such traditional beliefs and prevent food taboo practices in the study community.

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Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region

Cited by 86 publications

References 16 publications

Foods tabooed for pregnant women in Abala district of Afar region, Ethiopia: an inductive qualitative study

Foods tabooed for pregnant women in Abala district of Afar region, Ethiopia: an inductive qualitative study

Assessment of Socio-Cultural Factors Affecting Nigerian Mothers’ Weaning Practice

Food related taboos and misconceptions during pregnancy among rural communities of Illu Aba Bor Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

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