scholarly journals Ramadan Observance during Pregnancy in Germany: a Challenge for Prenatal Care

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (07) ◽  
pp. 684-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Leimer ◽  
Fabienne Pradella ◽  
Anja Fruth ◽  
Annette Queißer ◽  
Reyn van Ewijk

Abstract Introduction Fasting during Ramadan while pregnant has been shown to have long-term negative effects on the offspringʼs physical and cognitive health. Even though most Muslims do not believe pregnant women are obligated to fast during Ramadan, fasting rates of up to 87% have been reported for pregnant women. No data exists to date about Ramadan adherence and behavior in Germany. Methods The Mainz Study of Ramadan and Pregnancy surveyed pregnant Muslims and new Muslim mothers in Mainz between October 2016 and January 2017 and collected information on Ramadan adherence and behavior. We also collected data on personal characteristics and opinions, to identify determinants of fasting using statistical analysis. Results We found that 43% of pregnant Muslim women fasted at least one day during Ramadan 2016. Women who fasted were significantly younger and less educated. There was no significant difference in terms of country of origin between those women who fasted and those who did not. Only 49% of women who fasted and 38% of women who did not fast discussed their Ramadan behavior with their doctor. Less than 2% of women reported being proactively approached by their doctor. Conclusion To ensure that pregnant Muslim women living in Germany can make their fasting decision based on objective information, it is necessary to raise awareness about Ramadan fasting during pregnancy among medical professionals in Germany.

Author(s):  
Sahar Saadatnia ◽  
Azita Tiznobaik ◽  
Amir Saber

Abstract Objectives Nausea and vomiting have psychological negative effects on some pregnant women during gestation. Different strategies have been used for the treatment of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, such as acupressure and psychological interventions. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of psychological counseling and acupressure based on couple therapy procedures on vomiting and nausea in pregnant women in Iran. Methods Two hundred and eight women were divided into four groups (n=52): 1) they did not any intervention (control group), 2) they received the psychological intervention, 3) they received acupressure intervention, and 4) they received a combination of psychological + acupressure interventions. To investigate the effects of interventions on nausea and vomiting, the Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting and retching were used. The counseling period has lasted for 4 weeks. The pressure intervention on the site was conducted in clockwise form for 1 min and anticlockwise form for another 1 min. Results Groups did not have a significant difference for abortion and income (p>0.05). The effects of counseling, and acupressure interventions on severity and period of vomiting and nausea were not significant (p>0.05), but the intervention based on counseling and acupressure decreased severity of vomiting and nausea (p<0.05). Conclusions The intervention based on counseling and acupressure could not reduce nausea and vomiting during the gestation, but the intervention based on a combination of both decreased nausea and vomiting. It can be suggested to apply an intervention based on a combination of counseling and acupressure in short-time period for decreasing nausea and vomiting in women during pregnancy.


Author(s):  
Süleyman Serkan Karaşin ◽  
Tayfur Çift

Abstract Objective Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA)is a modified type of albumin protein that is formed under oxidative stress. This study aims to compare the levels of serum IMA between normotensive and preeclamptic pregnancies and to evaluate the relationship between the severity of the disease. Methods A total of 90 pregnant women aged between 18 and 45 years participated in this cross-sectional study. The levels of serum IMA were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 30 preeclamptic pregnant women with the severe signs of the disease, 30 preeclamptic pregnant women, and 30 normotensive pregnant women.. The study was designed as a cross-sectional clinical study. Results When the demographic characteristics were examined, statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of age, gestational week at birth and blood pressure. Age was higher in the preeclampsia with signs of severity group than in the normotensive group (p = 0.033). Pregnancy week was significantly the lowest in the preeclampsia with the severity signs group (p = 0.004). In normotensive patients, IMA levels were lower than in the preeclampsia groups (p < 0.001) but there was no significant difference in terms of severity of disease (p = 0.191). According to laboratory data; only the creatinine level was significantly different between the groups. Conclusion The levels of serum IMA were higher in patients with preeclampsia than in healthy pregnancies. However, there was no significant correlation in terms of preeclampsia severity; more extensive, prospective and long-term studies are needed.


Author(s):  
Kariman Ghazal ◽  
Janoub Khazaal ◽  
Janoub Khazaal ◽  
Rabih Chahine ◽  
Rabih Chahine ◽  
...  

Background: The primary aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of pregnant women who fast during Ramadan. The secondary outcome was their beliefs and motivations regarding fasting during Ramadan in addition to the consequences of fasting on maternal and neonatal outcome.Methods: A retrospective review of pregnant patients aged between 18-45 years who presented for antenatal care in the private clinic in Beirut, Lebanon during or after the month of Ramadan between 2010 and 2019 was performed.Results: A total of 502 pregnant patients were included in the study, of which 426 (84.9%) fasted during Ramadan and 76 (15.1%) did not fast at all. Of those who fasted, 148 (34.7%) fasted between 1 and 15 days while 278 (65.3%) fasted more than 15 days. Multiparous and non-Lebanese women had significantly higher rate of fasting compared to primiparous and Lebanese women. Adherence to fasting was associated with the spiritual environment that accompanies the month of Ramadan while non-adherence was mainly related to the fear from adverse effects on the mother and fetus. Fasting was not significantly associated with maternal complications or decreased neonatal birth weight.Conclusions: The present study showed that Ramadan fasting is important to pregnant Muslim women. This was manifested by the relatively high rate of fasting even in summer and spring seasons. Understanding the beliefs and motivations of pregnant women would provide valuable insight to physicians to appropriately advise these women without compromising the maternal or fetal well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 11991
Author(s):  
Jan Dirk Fijnheer ◽  
Herre van Oostendorp ◽  
Geert-Jan Giezeman ◽  
Remco C. Veltkamp

This paper presents the results of a game study, comparing Powersaver Game including a competition feature versus the same game excluding a competition feature with respect to energy conservation in the household. In a pretest–posttest design, we tested whether change in attitude, knowledge and behavior with respect to energy conservation in the household was different for participants playing Powersaver Game with or without competition. All energy conservation activities that the application provides (e.g., washing clothes at low temperatures) take place in the real world and feedback is based on real-time energy consumption. This so-called reality-enhanced game approach aims to optimize the transfer between the game world and the real world. Household energy consumption changed significantly and positively in the long term due to competition. A significant difference of 8% in energy consumption between both conditions after the intervention was detected. Besides energy conservation, no further differences were detected between conditions. The chain of events, that an increase in knowledge leads to attitude change, which in turn results in behavior change in the long term is confirmed by means of a path analysis. We conclude that Powersaver Game is effective in the transfer of energy conservation knowledge, which leads to energy saving behavior in the long term while competition additionally contributes to more change in behavior.


2021 ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
V.O. Beniuk ◽  
L.M. Vygivska ◽  
I.V. Maidannyk ◽  
T.V. Kovaliuk ◽  
O.O. Chorna ◽  
...  

Study objective: to determine the role and effectiveness of the proposed therapeutic and preventive complex and psychoemotional correction of hormonal disorders in the pregnancy dynamics after assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to improve the antenatal observation and prevention of obstetric and perinatal complications.Materials and methods. The study included 299 pregnant women: the main group included 249 women whose pregnancy occurred as an ART result; the control group included 50 pregnant women with spontaneous pregnancy. Therapeutic and prophylactic complex for pregnant women after ART included: micronized progesterone, magnesium oxide, folic acid, L-arginine aspartate, ω3-polyunsaturated fatty acids and long-term psychological correction on the eve of the ART program, at 8–10, 16–18 and 28–30 weeks of pregnancy. Results. There was a significant increase in the β-chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) level in women of the study groups in the first trimester of pregnancy against the background of the proposed treatment. Mean β-HCG value at 7–8 weeks of gestation in the subgroup IA exceeded the subgroup IB by 37% (p <0.05), in subgroup IIA it exceeded the subgroup IIB by 33% (p <0.05). The mean β-hCG value in subgroups IIIA and IIIB did not have a significant difference in the dynamics of the first trimester compared with the control group and among themselves (p >0.05).Mean progesterone value at 7–8 weeks of gestation in subgroup IA increased by 38% in comparison with pregnant women who received the conventional treatment complex (p <0.05), in subgroup IIA it was 73% higher than in subgroup IIB (p <0.05). There was no significant difference in the progesterone level in subgroups IIIA and IIIB in the dynamics of the first trimester.The average cortisol value at 23–24 weeks of pregnancy in subgroup IA decreased by 42% (p <0.05), in pregnant women with endocrine infertility against the background of the proposed treatment complex it was 62% less than in subgroup IIB (p <0.05). The average cortisol level in women with a male factor of infertility was 63% lower than in subgroup IIIB against the background of the proposed complex (p <0.05).Conclusion. Advanced therapy with micronized progesterone in combination with magnesium saturation, L-arginine aspartate, folic acid, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as long-term psychoemotional correction is appropriate and effective compared to conventional therapy for pregnant women.


2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (9) ◽  
pp. 1503-1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ary I. Savitri ◽  
Nasim Yadegari ◽  
Julia Bakker ◽  
Reyn J. G. van Ewijk ◽  
Diederick E. Grobbee ◽  
...  

Many Muslim women worldwide are pregnant during Ramadan and adhere to Ramadan fasting during pregnancy. In the present study, we determined whether maternal adherence to Ramadan fasting during pregnancy has an impact on the birth weight of the newborn, and whether the effects differed according to trimester in which Ramadan fasting took place. A prospective cohort study was conducted in 130 pregnant Muslim women who attended antenatal care in Amsterdam and Zaanstad, The Netherlands. Data on adherence to Ramadan fasting during pregnancy and demographics were self-reported by pregnant women, and the outcome of the newborn was retrieved from medical records after delivery. The results showed that half of all the women adhered to Ramadan fasting. With strict adherence to Ramadan fasting in pregnancy, the birth weight of newborns tended to be lower than that of newborns of non-fasting mothers, although this was not statistically significant ( − 198 g, 95 % CI − 447, 51, P= 0·12). Children of mothers who fasted in the first trimester of pregnancy were lighter at birth than those whose mothers had not fasted ( − 272 g, 95 % CI − 547, 3, P= 0·05). There were no differences in birth weight between children whose mothers had or had not fasted if Ramadan fasting had taken place later in pregnancy. Ramadan fasting during early pregnancy may lead to lower birth weight of newborns. These findings call for further confirmation in larger studies that should also investigate potential implications for perinatal and long-term morbidity and mortality.


1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Phillipov

Abstract A study was undertaken to assess the short-term (intrapregnancy) and long-term (interpregnancy) variability of the 1-h 50-g oral glucose challenge test (GCT). Two groups of pregnant women had GCTs in consecutive pregnancies, 1 (n = 77) and 2 (n = 43) years apart. Their results were compared with published results for a group (n = 53) who had GCTs on consecutive days. Robust estimates of the mean error variance (sigma2 error = sigma2 within-individual + sigma2 analytical) were calculated on log10-transformed data and were for the three groups 0.003995, 0.002603, and 0.0026249 (mg/dL)2, respectively. There was no significant difference between the group variances, establishing that the short- and long-term reliability of the GCT is comparable. Sigma2 between-individuals was estimated from the GCT values for 2695 pregnant women tested during the same period and was the main component (67.1%) of the total sample variation (sigma2 between-individuals / sigma2 population). Estimates of the population mean, sigma2 between-individuals, and sigma2 error were used to compute the probability that an observed GCT value had a true value equal to or greater than the consensus threshold of 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL).


2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-63
Author(s):  
Oktaviani Oktaviani ◽  
Reny Sulistyawati

Background: East Kotawaringin and Pulang Pisau Regency have highest prevalence of stunting, respectively, in Central Kalimantan Province. One of the efforts made through the assistance to improve the knowledge and skills of pregnant women. The study was aimed at analyzing the effectiveness of assistance on behavior and attitudes among pregnant women in the Pulang Pisau Regency. It also aimed to analyze the behavior of pregnant women shifting upon stunting.Method: It is a quasi-experimental study (n:60), with pre-posttest group comparison. There are two groups, namely conventional (n:30) and assisted through pocket book (n:30). Socio-economic data was collected to draw the characteristics of the study subjects through questionnaire. A 2x2 chi-square and paired t-test was run in SPSS v. 18 for Windows.Results: The characteristics of the study respondents did not show any significant differences in attitudes and behaviors of stunting prevention in the Pulang Pisau district. The average change in attitude score shows a significant difference in the assisted group with a pretest of 65.8 ± 7.8, increased during the post-test of 75.7 ± 2.7. It is also an increase in understanding (n: 21). We concluded that pocket-book treatment is more effective in improving the attitude of pregnant women towards preventing stunting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-112
Author(s):  
Oğuz Güler ◽  
Şafak Hatırnaz

Objective This study aimed to compare the level of anxiety in pregnant women who were admitted to our institute before and after confirmation of COVID-19 outbreak have reached Turkey. Methods One-hundred and fifty consecutive pregnant women admitted to our institute following the emergence of the global COVID-19 outbreak (Group 1) and 150 age-matched pregnant women who were admitted to our institute for delivery following the confirmation of COVID-19 outbreak have reached Turkey (Group 2) were enrolled in this study. All patients were asked to fill out the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results STAI-Trait scores, which reflect long term anxiety levels were similar in subjects admitted to our institute for delivery before the COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey compared to those admitted after COVID-19 outbreak (42.5±5.8 vs. 42.2±3.2, respectively; p=0.487). However, there was a significant difference in STAI-State scores, indicating state anxiety, between subjects admitted to our institute for delivery before and after confirmation of COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey (44.6±5.3 vs. 42.9±5.1, respectively; p=0.05). Conclusion Pregnant women admitted to our institute for delivery subsequent to the announcement of first COVID-19 case and declaration of the state of alarm have higher levels of state anxiety compared to those admitted before the establishment of first COVID-19 cases and containment measures.


Author(s):  
ANA MARIA BAPTISTA OLIVEIRA DIAS MALVA VAZ

There is a great controversy about the ingestion of caffeine during pregnancy, with some conclusive results suggesting that higher levels of caffeine consumption might have negative effects on pregnant women and babies.A low birth weight has been associated with caffeine consumption during pregnancy. However, not all studies share the same opinion. The mechanism by which caffeine appears to influence fetal growth is not yet defined. Verena (2013) refers in his research that for every 100mg of daily caffeine consumption, the weight of the baby would decrease between 21 to 28 grams and the gestation period was extended in five hours.Considering this, the goal of our study is to investigate the extent to which caffeine consumption in pregnant women can lead to the occurrence of low birth weight.To do this we have conducted a study of descriptive, transversal and quantitative type, consisting of 87 recent mothers, with an average age of 31.2 years, with a weight gain of 10,1Kg during pregnancy, gestational age of 38.8 weeks and birth weight of 3,003Kg, of which 75.86% ingested coffee during pregnancy, an average of 1.3 cups per day.After analysing the data, this study has found that there is no statistically significant difference between coffee consumption during pregnancy and the weight of the newborn.However the small size of the sample is considered the major limitation of the study.Based on the results of other conducted studies, the recommendations related to the maximum amount of caffeine consumption per day should be reviewed.Keywords: Caffeine; Pregnancy; Gestation; Newborn; Underweight newborn


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