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

ification of educational interventions. This study also revealed that earning more income is a deter-
minant of food restriction due to cultural taboos. This finding can be explained by the fact that a
higher income subsequently result in access to a variety of food (Ozdoğan and Ozferzcelik, 2011).
Pregnant women of low socioeconomic status in developing countries are noted for insufficient pro-
tein and energy food intake (Wright, Hoffman, and Savitz, 2010; Beydoun and Wang, 2008; ADA,
2005). It is quite obvious that most of the items that would have provided all the key nutrients were
primarily excluded on the basis that food might be hazardous to the health of the mothers. Contrary
to the findings of other investigators (Gittelsohn, Anliker, Sharma et al., 2006; ESFA Panel on
Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies [NDA], 2010), the result of this study indicated that
milk, bournvita, and cowpea seeds were exclusively avoided on health grounds and particularly to
prevent the development of big babies. The idea of big babies among the women signified referral
for cesarean section and also implied difficult labor. Similar findings were reported in literature
(Oboro, Tabowei, Jemikolajah et al., 2003). While poverty cannot be totally ruled out as one of
the contributing factors to food restriction as a result of cultural taboos in developing countries, food
taboos based on health or tradition are a potent factor that demands close attention of obstetricians,
nutritionist and other health workers.
4.1 Implications for Nutrition Education

The findings of this study have several implications for nutrition-related health education interven-
tions on the dietary intake of pregnant women. Several combination of health education strategies
which include public enlightenment, training, and counseling of pregnant women as well as advoca-
cy to religious and community leaders have huge potentials in addressing the phenomenon.
Public enlightenment campaigns can be used to create awareness and influence knowledge, beha-
viors, and cultural beliefs relating to dietary intake. It has the potential to reach large numbers of
people including pregnant women and significant others such as spouses and relatives that can in-
fluence the dietary intake of pregnant women. Public enlightenment techniques that can be used in-
clude handbills, documentaries, and jingles.
Training as well as counseling of pregnant women during antenatal care visits on healthy diet and
nutrition-related issues could serve as effective strategies for addressing food restriction practices
during pregnancy. Emphasis should be placed on various maternal nutrition-related issues including
healthy food selection and the importance of fruits and vegetables consumption for the supply of
nutrients and fibers to the body. More attention should be given to young women who have less
knowledge of dietary issues during pregnancy. This could be achieved, in part, by increasing their
access to relevant youth-friendly training programs and providing opportunities for them to gain ex-
periences from older pregnant women. Older pregnant women who are experienced and knowled-
geable could be trained to provide peer-led training and support for young pregnant women on die-
tary issues during pregnancy. In addition, educational interventions on dietary issues during preg-
nancy using social media strategies or methods such as text messages can be implemented to target a
large population of pregnant women especially the young pregnant women and provide them with
robust learning opportunities.
Mobilizing communities to promote a healthy diet may also be very useful in addressing the
problem of food restriction or avoidance associated with cultural taboos and religious beliefs facing
pregnant women. Community involvement in community nutritional interventions for pregnant
women is particularly appealing and holds the potential for success because it is based on the prin-
ciple that it provides opportunities for community members to participate in the design, implementa-
tion, and evaluation of nutritional interventions.
Advocacy interventions that target religious leaders and custodians of tradition and customs have
the potential of effectively addressing cultural beliefs and taboos that favor avoidance of healthy
foods that could benefit pregnant women. Advocacy interventions can be made more effective when
supported with locally generated data from systematically conducted studies.

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