Fasting Status of Pregnant Women During Ramadan

The aim of this study was to reveal whether pregnant women fast in Ramadan, a lunar month, and to determine in which trimesters of pregnancy they fast. The impetus for this study was recognition of several fasting pregnant women in Ramadan in a district where nursing students have practice classes and visit homes. The study was conducted between 11 August and 9 September, which corresponded to the lunar month Ramadan. The researcher designed a questionnaire and determined criteria for inclusion of subjects during Ramadan. As a result, the sample included 81 pregnant women. Data were collected at home visits with the questionnaire developed by the researchers and were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. In total, forty-two percent of the women fasted and one third of them fasted for over 20 days. As pregnancy progressed, the number of fasting women and duration of fasting decreased. In the light of research results, pregnant women must be informed about short term and long term effects of fasting and especially nutrition.