Food taboos practice and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Doctor Bogalech Gebre memorial general hospital, Durame town, Southern Ethiopia, 2022

Abstract

Background: Food taboos are customs that prevent certain foods and beverages from being consumed within a society for religious and cultural reasons. Due to the restriction of essential foods and beverages, it has a significant negative health impact on pregnant women and offspring. However, there is a lack of data regarding Ethiopian food taboos practices in general and in this study area particularly. Objective: To assess the magnitude of food taboos practice and associated factors among pregnant women in Dr. Bogalech Gebre memorial general Hospital, Durame Town, Southern Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 pregnant women from August 1 to 30, 2022 by using systematic sampling techniques. Data were entered into epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 26 for further analysis. Statistical significance was declared at a P-value < 0.05 with a 95% Confidence level. Results: From the total 422 pregnant mothers, 54.5% (95% CI 49.90–59.20) of them encounter food taboos practice at least for one food item. The age group of pregnant mothers was 25–34 years [AOR = 0.48, 95% CI (0.28–0.84)]; the number of family size was 4–6 were [AOR = 0.42, 95% CI (0.19–0.88)]. Previous antenatal care [AOR = 1.64, 95% CI (1.02–2.66)], change feeding habit [AOR = 1.52, 95% CI (1.02–2.33)], and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy [AOR = 1.83, 95% CI (1.16–2.91)] were significantly associated with food taboos practice. Conclusion: The magnitude of food taboos practice among pregnant women was public health problems. Age, family size, previous antenatal care follow-up, changing feeding habits, and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy were found to be factors affecting food taboos practice.