A study on misconceptions of food intake during pregnency & lactation

In (11-bold) Taboos and misconceptions during pregnancy have been part of Indian cultures since centuries. Superstition is a belief or practice generally regarded as irrational and as resulting from ignorance or from fear of the unknown. It implies a belief in unseen and unknown forces that can be influenced by objects and rituals. Magic or sorcery, witchcraft, and the occult in general are often referred to as superstitions. Food Taboos and Misconceptions among Pregnant Women are most common in many women of any part of the country (Ref 1). A food taboo is a prohibition against consuming certain foods. The word "taboo" (also spelled "tabu") is Polynesian and means 'sacred' or 'forbidden'; it has a quasi-magical or religious overtone. The term was introduced in the anthropological literature in the second half of the nineteenth century. Taboo food and drink are which people abstain from consuming for religious, cultural or hygienic reasons. Many food taboos forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, bony fish, and crustaceans. All communities have their own cultural (traditional) pattern. The cultural pattern of a group is based on learned behavior, acquired partly by deliberate instruction on the part of parents, but mostly subconsciously by incidental observation of the behavior of relatives and other close members of the community.