Keywords
Abstract
Ramadan is a fasting month for Muslims. Fasting commences from dawn until sunset
and is obligatory for all healthy accountable Muslims. The sick and travelers are
exempted from fasting until their travel ends or until they are healthy. Some Muslim
pregnant women, who may be prone to side effects should they fast, do fast during
Ramadan for up to 30 days, against the advice of their obstetrics’. In this study, we
examined the effects of fasting during the third trimester on the anthropometric index of
neonates.
Methods:
This study was conducted in historical cohort and the data were collected through
interviews and by examining medical documents of the mothers and the babies. In this
retrograde study the population consisted of 179 newborn babies.
The exposure group consisted of the mothers who were fasting and the non exposure
group consisted of other mothers who were not fasting. Sixteen newborn babies who did
not have the criteria for inclusion were omitted. The data were analyzed by SPSS and
then a T test was done.
Results:
In this study 91.1% of the mothers were pregnant for three times and less than 57.1% of
the newborn babies were males and 42.9% were females. The types of delivery of 58/1
were normal and 41/9 of them were done through cesarean. The average weight of
newborn babies in exposure group was 3313+_533 gm. compared with 3346+_337 gm.
in non-exposure group. The length in exposure group was 49/74+- 1/84 cm. compared
with 49/9+_1/89 cm. in non-exposure one. The average size of the head circumference
was 34/65+_1/57 in the exposure one, whereas; in non exposure group it was
34/57+_1/57. In all this above the observer found no significant relation. The relative-
risk low birth weight (LBW) in exposure group was1.9 (0.61-5.98).
Conclusion:
The data of this study showed that fasting of pregnant mothers during their third trimester
of pregnancy did not have an affect on the growth indices of their newborn babies.