Page 118 - IJPS-2-1

Dietary intake knowledge and reasons for food restriction during pregnancy among pregnant women attending primary health care centers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

sugary food (32.1%), salted food (23.4%), and ‘eba’ — a staple Nigerian food made from cassava
flour (10.9%). Another major reason for avoiding food was because some of the pregnant wom-
en could not afford some food due to high costs. These foods were fruits (35.0%); ‘proteinous’ foods
(30.0%) including eggs, ‘bushmeat’ (refers to meats from non-domestic or wild animals), cray-
fish, chicken; vegetables (7.2%); beverages (15.0%); and carbohydrates (12.8%).
In Table 6, the association between cultural taboos and socio-demographic characteristics of the
respondents was assessed. A higher proportion of respondents with no formal education (95.5%)

Table 6. Association between avoidance of food based on cultural taboos and socio demographic characteristics of respondents
Avoidance of food based on cultural taboos
Characteristics Chi-square P value
Yes (%) No (%) Total (%)
Age
14–24 130 (81.3) 30 (18.8) 160 (100.0) χ = 3.151
2
25–34 285 (85.6) 48 (14.4) 333 (100.0) P = 0.207
≥45 34 (91.9) 3 (8.1) 37 (100.0)
Marital status
2
Married 402 (84.8) 72 (15.2) 474 (100.0) χ = 0.249
Single 34 (82.9) 7 (17.1) 41 (100.0) P = 0.969
Widowed 6 (100) 0 (0) 6 (100.0)
Divorced 1 (100) 0 (0) 6 (100.0)
Education
2
No formal 21 (95.5) 1 (4.5) 22 (100.0) χ = 9.59
Primary 45 (93.8) 3 (6.3) 48 (100.0) P = 0.022
Secondary 178 (79.8) 45 (20.2) 223 (100.0)
Tertiary 203 (86.4) 32 (13.6) 235 (100.0)
Occupation
Unemployed 33 (97.1) 1 (2.9) 34 (100.0) χ = 16.28
2
Housewife 37 (82.2) 8 (17.8) 45 (100.0) P = 0.006
Student 31 (70.5) 13 (29.5) 44 (100.0)
Petty trader 119 (81.5) 27 (18.5) 146 (100.0)
Artisan 75 (83.3) 15 (16.7) 90 (100.0)
Civil servant 148 (90.2) 16 (9.8) 164 (100.0)
Monthly income
2
None 14 (58.3) 10 (41.7) 24 (100.0) χ = 19.87
<10,000 124 (84.9) 22 (15.1) 146 (100.0) P = 0.003
11,000–20,000 133 (84.7) 24 (15.3) 157 (100.0)
21,000–30,000 58 (87.9) 8 (12.1) 66 (100.0)
31,000–40,000 17 (73.9) 6 (26.1) 23 (100.0)
41,000–50,000 40 (83.3) 8 (16.7) 48 (100.0)
>50,000 55 (94.8) 3 (5.2) 58 (100.0)
Religion
Christianity 336 (84.8) 60 (15.2) 396 (100.0) χ = 0.055
2
Islam 107 (84.3) 20 (15.7) 127 (100.0) P = 0.996
Traditional 4 (100.0) 0 (0) 4 (100.0)
Others 1 (100.0) 0 (0) 1 (100.0)
Number of children
0 85 (80.2) 21 (19.8) 106 (100.0) χ = 3.58
2
1–2 232 (84.4) 43 (15.6) 275 (100.0) P = 0.310
3–4 120 (88.2) 16 (11.8) 136 (100.0)
≥5 12 (92.3) 1 (7.7) 13 (100.0)

112 International Journal of Population Studies | 2016, Volume 2, Issue 1