Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb 1:7:e5.
doi: 10.1017/jns.2017.70. eCollection 2018.

Ramadan during pregnancy and birth weight of newborns

Ary I Savitri  1 , Dwirani Amelia  2 , Rebecca C Painter  3 , Mohammad Baharuddin  2 , Tessa J Roseboom  3   4 , Diederick E Grobbee  1 , Cuno S P M Uiterwaal  1
Affiliations

Ramadan during pregnancy and birth weight of newborns

Ary I Savitri et al. J Nutr Sci. .

Abstract

Previous studies suggest that Ramadan exposure during pregnancy might affect the health of women and their babies, particularly through the effect of fasting. This study aimed to evaluate the association between Ramadan exposure and fasting during pregnancy on the birth weight of newborns. This study concerned 1351 pregnant women from a prospective cohort in Jakarta, Indonesia. Ramadan exposure was based on the actual overlap between Ramadan and pregnancy. Women's fasting behaviour was recorded among 139 women who came for antenatal care between 10 July 2013 and 7 August 2013, and those who had fasted for at least 1 d (n 110) were classified as exposed to Ramadan fasting. Furthermore, a 24 h dietary recall was performed and repeated 1 month later. Birth weight of newborns who were exposed to Ramadan during pregnancy did not significantly differ from those who were not, both in the total and trimester-specific analysis. Maternal fasting did not seem to affect the birth weight of newborns (-72 (95 % CI -258, 114) g; P = 0·44), although there was a non-significant trend towards lower birth weight with fasting in the second and third trimester. Women who fasted had significantly lower total energy, macronutrient and water intake as compared with women who did not. Women's intake was also lower during Ramadan (regardless of their fasting behaviour) as compared with 1 month later. Lifestyle changes that occur with Ramadan and fasting during pregnancy are associated with lower reported energy intake. We cannot conclude on the effect of fasting on birth weight due to low statistical power.

Keywords: Birth weight; Fasting; Pregnancy; Ramadan.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Overview of the study population.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Boxplot showing the relationship between tertiles of fasting days and birth weight. Tertile 1 (n 33), tertile 2 (n 40) and tertile 3 (n 35). The horizontal lines represent medians, the boxes interquartile ranges, the whiskers are minima and maxima and the circles are outliers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abu-Saad K & Fraser D (2010) Maternal nutrition and birth outcomes. Epidemiol Rev 32, 5–25. - PubMed
    1. Rush D (2001) Maternal nutrition and perinatal survival. Nutr Rev 59, 315–326. - PubMed
    1. Wu G, Imhoff-Kunsch B & Girard AW (2012) Biological mechanisms for nutritional regulation of maternal health and fetal development. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 26, Suppl. 1, 4–26. - PubMed
    1. Barker DJP (2007) The origins of the developmental origins theory. J Intern Med 261, 412–417. - PubMed
    1. Barker DJP, Lampl M, Roseboom T, et al. (2012) Resource allocation in utero and health in later life. Placenta 33, Suppl. 2, e30–e34. - PubMed