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. 2024 Dec 18;22(1):168.
doi: 10.1186/s12961-024-01257-w.

Key element missed in nutrition policy: why does undernutrition not decline among pregnant women in Ethiopia?

Shiferaw Gelchu  1 , Dessalegn Wirtu  2 , Merga Dheresa  3 , Dawit Galgalo  4 , Haro Miesa  4
Affiliations

Key element missed in nutrition policy: why does undernutrition not decline among pregnant women in Ethiopia?

Shiferaw Gelchu et al. Health Res Policy Syst. .

Abstract

Pregnancy is the most delicate stage in human life that requires high quality and several types of food to meet maternal and foetal nutritional demands. During pregnancy, food taboo is practised habitually by Ethiopian women, suggesting that they are affected by macro and micronutrient deficiencies. In Ethiopia, there is a greater magnitude of food taboo practices during pregnancy. This implies the need for attention to eliminating harmful cultural practices of food restriction during pregnancy from concerned bodies. Therefore, appropriate nutritional policies and strategies focusing on food taboos during pregnancy are crucial to counter maternal and foetal health problems related to nutritional inadequacy.

Keywords: Ethiopia; Food taboos; Nutrition policies; Pregnant women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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