A Narrative Review of Nutritional Malpractices, Motivational Drivers, and Consequences in Pregnant Women: Evidence from Recent Literature and Program Implications in Ethiopia

Abstract

Maternal nutrition is very important for the wellbeing of pregnant women, childbirth, and lactating women, which are crucial and meant for the wellbeing of a mother and newborn baby. This narrative review discusses nutritional malpractices, motivational drivers, and their consequences typically from Ethiopian pregnant women’s context. Different studies (regarding less of study design and type) done among pregnant women (aged 15–49 years) by considering pregnancy-related outcomes and timing of nutritional malpractices were included mostly. Accordingly, taboos of healthy diets, craving for unhealthy foods (sweet, fat, raw, and salty/spicy foods), and nonfood items (soil, coffee residue, stone, and ash) were practiced majorly by the women. The birth difficulty, fetal head plastering, fetus discoloration, fetus burns, abortion, and abdominal cramp are the primary drivers of taboos of healthy diets. Hormonal change and social and nutrient-seeking behavior are the most prevalent drivers to the consumption of unhealthy foods. Additionally, personal interest, flavor, and color of items are important motivators to practice pica. Such pica practice hurts nutrient intake, absorption of iron/zinc, abdominal health, and diarrhea occurrence. Food taboos are high predictors of health disorders, such as intrauterine growth restriction, infection, bleeding, preeclampsia, stillbirth, early birth, low birth weight, retarded development of cognitive, and anemia. Craving and eating unhealthy foods were interconnected with chronic disease development (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer), discomforts, preterm labor, preeclampsia, and intrauterine growth restriction in women. Additionally, it is also associated with stillbirth, low birth weight, obesity, birth defect/deficit, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, renal disease, decreased fetal growth, behavioral change, heart failure, and poor cognitive development in the infant. Overall, these nutritional malpractices are significantly associated with many argumentative pregnancies as well as developmental consequences leading to the direction of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity. Therefore, urgent implementation of health and nutrition education programs considering food misconceptions and beliefs regarding pregnancy and use of ground-breaking ways to play down the negative and maximize potential positive dietary effects designed by the government of Ethiopia could also serve as a long-term solution to the problem.

Magnitude and effects of food cravings on nutritional status of pregnant women in Southern Ethiopia: A community-based cross sectional study

“…Pregnant women who had practiced pica have a higher likelihood of experiencing food cravings as compared to their counterparts. Consistent with our study result different studies revealed that craving for nonfood items reduces the intake of nutritious foods which in turn leads to inadequate dietary intake of essential nutrients [ 8 , 20 , 21 ].On the other hand, our study result found that pregnant women who skipped meals were more likely to experience food cravings than women who did not skip meals. Skipping meals during pregnancy can affect the blood glucose level and also increase cravings for junk foods, which have empty calories to meet the nutritional demand of the pregnant mother [ 22 ].…”

Factors Affecting Fat and Fibre Consumption of Ghanaian Pregnant Women: Findings from a Hospital-based Study

“…For instance, in a community-based study in Boricha Woreda, Southern Ethiopia, nearly, seven in ten (69.2%) pregnant women were averted to at least one food (Moges et al, 2015). Another possible reason for the difference in study findings is that during pregnancy, motivation for eating a healthy diet may change compared to the non-pregnant state, as women prepare for motherhood and consider the impact of their dietary intake on the child's health (Forbes et al, 2018;Kibr, 2021). The current finding has important implications on the general wellbeing of both the mother and the baby, considering that excess fat intake could contribute to unhealthy weight gain in the pregnant women (WHO, 2020), and yet essential fatty acids such as DHA and EPA are essential for foetal growth and development (Coletta et al, 2010).…”

Nutritional Related Factors of Anemia among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Sekota Tefera Hailu Memorial Hospital, North West, Ethiopia

“…Throughout pregnancy, women need proper nutrition for a healthy outcome; they also need more food, a varied diet, increased calorie intake, and micronutrient supplements [9]. Poor maternal nutrition habits such as an inadequate diet, low meal frequency, consuming excess tea and coffee during meals, and food aversion are associated with anemia and can result in a low intake of vital nutrients like protein, vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, and vitamins [2,10].…”