Nutritional beliefs and practices among diabetic pregnant mothers in a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background & aimPregnant mothers with diabetes, especially in developing countries, are particularly prone to suffer from dietary imbalances due to superstitions and irrational beliefs and practices. The study aimed to explore the existing beliefs and practices related to food intake among Bangladeshi diabetic pregnant mothers. Material & methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 diabetic pregnant mothers (age in yrs, M±SD, 30±4), selected purposively from outpatient department of Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS 16.0 were used for data analysis. ResultsAbout 40% mothers had uncontrolled glycaemic status. 43% mothers believed that food should not be taken during the ‘call for prayer’ and 91% of them practiced it. For ‘eclipse’ the percentage of such kind of belief was much higher (80%) and 90% of them practiced it. With varying proportion for particular fishes 44–58% respondents believed that some fishes should be avoided due to the increased movement of child, fetal malformation and disease. 93% actually practiced it. 28% had adverse beliefs about duck meat, 78% pineapple and 8% had about coconut. The corresponding percentages for practice were 82%, 99% and 50% respectively. Mentally and physically abnormal child, different kinds of child illness and threat of abortion were among the reasons for misbeliefs about those foods. ConclusionThere are a number of nonscientific beliefs and prejudices among this pregnant mother regarding the intake of food.