Motivators for Adherence and Drivers of Taboo‐Breaking Behaviour Regarding Food Taboos Among Rural Pregnant Women in Bangladesh
Findings From Formative Research
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15537136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shahrin Emdad Rayna (0000-0003-4309-672X, Bangladesh Medical University), Fahmida Afroz Khan (0000-0002-2065-3645, Bangladesh Medical University), Sharraf Samin (0000-0002-1968-6116, Bangladesh Medical University), Saiqa Siraj (Dhaka International University), Saika Nizam (Bangladesh University of Health Sciences), Syed Shariful Islam (0000-0002-3199-1076, Bangladesh Medical University), Md Khalequzzaman (0000-0003-4638-7469, Bangladesh Medical University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | e70053-e70053 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Maternal and Child Nutrition (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1740-8695 • E-ISSN: 1740-8709 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/mcn.70053 |
| PMID | 40457571 |
| OpenAlex | W4411007510 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 32 |
Understanding the influence of cultural practices on maternal health is crucial in addressing the nutritional challenges faced by pregnant women in rural Bangladesh. Despite improvements in maternal and child health indicators, food taboos remain prevalent, impacting nutritional and health outcomes of vulnerable populations. This qualitative study explored food taboos and factors related to their adherence or breaking, among rural pregnant women in Bangladesh, where a total of 90 participants, including 21 pregnant women, 23 mothers-in-law, 20 husbands, and 26 healthcare workers, were interviewed through 29 in-depth interviews and 11 focus group discussions. Nearly half of the participants adhered to food taboos, citing beliefs about their negative consequences on pregnancy and baby health. Commonly restricted animal source foods included white carp, trout, duck meat, and mutton, due to fears of convulsions, speech disorders, or undesirable traits in the baby. Raw papayas and pineapples were avoided due to beliefs they could cause miscarriage. Adherence to these taboos was related to the pregnant mother's desire to avoid harm to her child, preference for vaginal delivery, avoid financial stress of caesarean section, profound respect for her elders, early age at marriage, and primiparity. Factors enabling the breaking of food taboos included nutritional counselling by healthcare workers, increased family understanding of maternal nutrition, reduced reinforcement of taboos, and the lack of negative consequences from consuming tabooed foods. The findings underscore the need to use scientific evidence to challenge food taboos by enhancing nutritional counselling programmes and engaging family members and community elders to foster dietary changes for pregnant women
Environmental health · Formative assessment · Pregnancy · Taboo · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Medicine · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
Facilitators and barriers to facility-based delivery in low- and middle-income countries
Maternal Nutrition and Birth Outcomes
Achieving behaviour change at scale
A formative study of the sociocultural influences on dietary behaviours during pregnancy in rural Bangladesh
The Social and Environmental Factors Underlying Maternal Malnutrition in Rural Bangladesh
Women's Education and the Timing of Marriage and Childbearing in the Next Generation
Traditional food taboos and practices during pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and infant care of Zulu women in northern KwaZulu-Natal
Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria
Motivations for food prohibitions during pregnancy and their enforcement mechanisms in a rural Ghanaian district
The importance of eating rice
Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis
How Many Focus Groups Are Enough? Building an Evidence Base for Nonprobability Sample Sizes
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |