Different communities have got dissimilar cultures that guide them in all aspects of their lives. Their perceptions of health of a woman during pregnancy vary from one community to another and how they handle themselves in terms of the food they take also varies. Issayas (1996) has done an intensive research about the same issue of cultural beliefs and a woman’s overall health. It is a clear fact that the woman’s general health is as a result of a combination of social factors: one of these factors is religion. Most of the belief systems and tradition in nutrition that the cultures embrace may be of considerable benefit as well as harmful to the life of the mother or the child or both.
Different cultures all over the world have got different nutritional requirements for expectant women. These may affect not only the health of the woman, but also the fetus that she is carrying in her womb or the newborn. This nutrition may either be harmful to the health of the woman or benefit to the same owing to practice at hand. Ward and ADA (2009, p. 25) point out that the meaning of childbirth is distinctive to each and every culture and that they play a crucial role in child birth.
Asian culture advocates for large meals that a woman in her later days of pregnancy should take with a perception that this would give them energy to push them through labor (Ward & ADA, 2009, p. 16). This is nutrition that some other cultures would not embrace but rather discourage it; this is to help the mother avoid nausea or vomiting feelings when labor becomes active during pregnancy. Again, the Asian culture proposes that a woman who drinks too much milk during pregnancy will eventually cause the child to be fat and of much weight, putting the child at risk of hypocalcaemia. In this culture, there is a negative perception towards colostrum as being dirty; this is what makes them discard it and deny the newborn baby a chance to take it. This is in contrary with the provisions of infant healthcare that highlight the significance of colostrums feeding for it is transmits the protective antibodies from mothers to their newborns (Ward & ADA, 2009, p. 82).
The Muslim community on their part believes in a culture that may be dangerous to the health of the newborns (Ward & 2009, p. 57). In the first place, the culture does not support feeding the baby with breast milk for a period longer than six months; also, many a time they switch the normal infant formula to use bottled milk from cows. This is not the right way to handle this; mainly because a newborn child requires being breast fed for more than six months before eating other food types. In addition, as some other cultures believe, certain sections of Muslims also consider the first milk from mother to be of a poor nutrition value or harmful to the baby (Ward & ADA, 2009, p. 116). They, therefore, supplement it with water and honey to the newborns something that adds a lot to deterioration of a child’s health.
Culture has a direct impact on the nutrition of pregnant women, new mothers and their children. As pointed in the discussion above, some cultural beliefs on this nutrition are not beneficial; hence why cultural groups need to be educated on the above.
Issayas. S. (1996). Traditional Beliefs and Practices that Affect the Health of Women and Children in Eritrea. UNFPA/UNICEF, Asmara. Retrieved from: snap3.uas.mx/RECURSO1/unfpa/data/docs/unpf0031.pdf
Ward, E. & American Dietetic Association [ADA] (2009). Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and After Pregnancy. New Jersey: Wiley
