KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF FASTING IN PREGNANCY

Introduction: Fasting during pregnancy has always considered a debatable condition. During pregnancy ,adequate nuitrition is essential to support fetal Growth and Development .Fasting which involves prolonged peroids of reduced or no food intake has been practice for various reasons, including religious observances and weight management. The physiological metabolic changes that occur during fasting may potentially affect the well being of both the mother and the developing fetus. This paper explores the existing literature to evaluate Knowledge and Attitude about fasting practices among pregnant women Materials and Method: It is a cross sectional study , conducted at Kashibai Navale Medical and General Hospital . Total 300 Pregnant women attending ANC OPD were invited to join study and if agreed, signed written informed consent . The Question related to knowledge , attitude and practices were asked to pregnant women who are interested. Data collection done using self administered Questionnaire Discussion: According to Saro s Thai Muslim study 87.1% fast during pregnancy. In our study 24% pregnant women fast during pregnancy. -While study in Pakistan show -43% women observe fasting for 21-30 days, whereas in our study 25% observe fast once in a week. -In Saro s Thai Muslim study- 49.6% pregnant women think that fasting should not be practiced during pregnancy, while in our study 74% pregnant women think fasting should not be practiced during pregnancy. -Study in Pakistan -41% pregnant women think that fasting might harm their fetus, while in our study 65% pregnant women think that fasting might harm their fetus. -In other study 16% pregnant women think fasting during pregnancy causes adverse outcome, in our study 70% pregnant women think pregnancy will cause adverse outcome. -Pregnant women with age more than 35 , uneducated women tend to fast more which is similar in our study. Conclusion: In this study, it shows that lesser proportion of pregnant women observe fast during pregnancy and most pregnant women are aware about the adverse outcomes of fasting during pregnancy. This study shows that majority of pregnant women fast due to religious belief. However, the study on health effects of fasting in pregnancy outcome are still unclear, it is important for health care providers to be aware of potential risk that may be associated with fasting during pregnancy.