Pre‐partumPracticesandNutritionalBeliefsinWestIndia

PREGNANCY:

HimaliBhattSeniorCapstonePresentation

November30,2009

Apicturefromoneoftheclinics

Thisboardisfoundwasfoundinallthewomen’sclinicsIwentto.

Pre‐natalsexdeterminationisnotdoneinIndiatopreventabortionoffemales.

Outline  Pre‐partumdietarychanges&explanations Variationdependingonterm Bodytypeinfluenceondietarymodifications  Foodpreferences&avoidances  Locationof1stdelivery Customsbeforebirth

StudyOverview  Womeninterviewedat2women’sclinicsinAhmedabad&Mumbai

  n=21(patients)  n=2(physicians)  n=2(AYP)  Purpose:tolearnaboutwomen’spre‐andpost‐partumpracticesandnutritionalbeliefs.

PRE‐PARTUMDIET

Pre‐partumdietarychanges

  90.5%reportedthattheychangedtheirdiet

  9.5%reportedthattheydidnot

Changes Milk–28.6%(C)  Fruits–47.5%(C) Vegetables–19%(C)  “Hadwa”–14.3%  “Garam”–14.3%(L&S) Oily–23.8%(L&S)  Spicy,salty,non‐veg–4.8%(differentwomen)

DietaryModificationExplanations

Reason Percentage

ForHealth 28.6%

FortheBaby 28.6%

Becauseshewastoldto 33.3%

Vomiting 33.3%

ToavoidMiscarriages 9.5%

“Cool”vs.“Hot” 14.3%

Foodconsideredgood 9.5%

“Eechathai” 4.8%

“Heavy”vs.“Light” 9.5%

*Note:Somewomenprovidedmorethan1explanation.

Influencesforpregnantwomen

Person Percentage

Self 9.5%

Mother 38.1%

Mother‐in‐law 52.4%

Physician 9.5%

Elders 19.0%

Relatives 14.3%

Friends 9.5%

Unspecified 14.3%

Explanationsfornotmodifyingdiet  Didnotfinditnecessary(1)  Justeatsroutine(1)

Variationindietdependingonthetermofpregnancy

52.4%47.6%

Explanationsbehindmodifyingbasedonterm

  1sttrimester  Eat“hadwa”foodsbecausevomiting

 Hadwa–mamra,khakra,khichdee  Bettertoeatfruits,GLV,“shaak”  Avoid“garam”foods

 After1sttrimester  Atemore“heavy”foods

  i.e.chappatis  Regulardiet

  Notvomitinganymore  At8thmonthbackto“hadwa”(1)  At9thmonthless“chikaas”&less“garam”food

Bodytypeinfluenceondietarymodification

  42.9%ofwomensaidthattheirbody“type”influencedtheirdietarymodification  77.8%ofthesewomensaidthattheyate“cooler”foods

  55.6%ofthesewomensaidthattheyavoidedeating“hot”foods

  Literature:  Womenwith“hot”constitutionatecoolerfoods(butnotv.v.)

  Avoideating“hot”foodsbecausetheyarebelievedtocausemiscarriages.

Foodpreferences

Food Percentage

Fruits 14.3%

Spicy 14.3%

Sweets 28.6%

ChutPatu 23.8%

Salty 4.8%

Khatu 9.5%

Juice 4.8%

Misc. 9.5%76.2%ofwomenhadfood

preferences

76.2%

23.8%

Foodavoidances

Food Percentage

“Shaak” 28.6%

“Daal” 4.8%

Highsodiumfoods

9.5%

Wheat 9.5%

“Heavy” 4.8%

Non‐veg 4.8%

SpecificTastes 14.3%

Foodoverall 14.3%

Misc. 4.8%61.9%ofwomenhadfood

avoidances

61.9%

38.1%

Noavoidancesorpreferences   33.3%ofwomenhadnofoodpreferences  33.3%ofwomenhadnofoodavoidances  Same7women

PRE‐PARTUMCUSTOMS

Locationof1stdelivery

76.2%

14.3% 9.5%

Explanationsbehindreturninghome

 Women  Itisacustomtoreturnhomeforthe1stdelivery.  Mostwomenreturnedhome(“pier”)aftertheirSeemant/Shrimant/KhorodoBhairo/GoadBhariye  Usuallyoccurredinthe6thor7thmonthofpregnancy

 Me  Mightbeaformofcomfortbecausethewomanwouldfeelmoreathome.

  Motherwouldtakecareofher,andshewouldgettorelaxandrest.

GarbhSanksar  14.3%talkedabout“GarbhSanskar”andcreationofagoodenvironment

  Sanskar/Samskara–riteofpassage  Garbhadhana–doneatconception

  Preparethebodyforpregnancy,stopbadhabits,etc. Wantagoodenvironmentforthesoul(atman)

  1stof16SamskarasintheHinduism

  Readgoodbooksforsanskar  i.e.religiousbooks

  Don’twatchviolentmovies  Book:GarbhSanskar  Listenstobhajans(devotionalsongs)&saysbhagwan’s(God)name  “sattvikgoonoaave”  From7thmonthonthefetusisawareofthemother’sfeelings,etc.

  StoryofAbhimanu Onewomensaidshedoesn’teatoutsidefoodwhileexpectingbecause“jevuunevumaan”(thethoughtsofthechefhaveanimpactonthepersoneatingthefoodandthebabyinthewomb).

Creatingagoodenvironment

Seemant Anotherofthe16samskaras  Similartoababyshowerwithreligiousrituals  85.7%ofwomensaidthattheyhadone Usuallyoccursinthe7thmonthofpregnancyandafterthisceremony,theexpectingmotherreturnstohermother’shomeforthedelivery.

Conclusion Allthedifferentcustoms,nutritionalbeliefs,andpracticesthatthesewomenobserveallhaveonepurpose:  Tomaintainhealthandhaveahealthychild.  Tiedintoreligiouscustoms

  Appearstohaveaprotectiveeffect.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ThankstotheExperientialLearningFellowshipinAnthropologyand

SOURCEforfundingthisresearchandtoDr.KorbinandDr.Greksa.