The holy month of Ramadan is underway, and people belonging to the Islamic faith fast during the daytime and break their fast post sunset. If you are looking for Iftar Recipes that your kids will love- click here for two awesome Ramzan Recipes, this mom has suggested!
As an expectant mom in this period- one common question you might have is to know if it is safe to fast during Ramzan when you are pregnant.
As per Islamic beliefs, it is stated that there is no hard and fast rule that expects a pregnant mom to fast during Ramzan. Also, there are studies and research findings that states there isn’t any major effect on the health of the foetus and the expectant mom because of the fasting. NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) conducted a study on the effect of fasting during Ramzan on pregnant moms. The research concluded that “Islamic fasting has no inappropriate effect on intrauterine growth and birth-time indices”.
However, the trimester that you are in, during the fasting has an effect, says this study. A risk of low birth weight of about 1.5 times in mothers on fasting at the first trimester was observed as compared to non-fasting mothers.
Image source: NCBI
There was another recent report on BBC that stated how pregnant women who fast during Ramzan are prone to have smaller babies who are more prone to learning disabilities in adulthood. And this trend was believed to be more marked if the fasting was during the earlier trimesters and during the gruelling days of summer when the days are longer.
On the other hand, for moms who are reluctant to fast during pregnancy, there are reports that state Islam has convenient laws for pregnant moms, It is stated that the days not spent on fasting when pregnant can be compensated after childbirth if needed. Also, there are apparent provisions where expectant moms can also give money for charity to compensate for the fasting.
Image source: crosswalk.com
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