Pregnant mothers should be careful while going for fasting

[Naveed Yaseen]

Muhammad Qasim
Pregnant and lactating mothers may fast in case of having no complication or infection or if they are medically fit, however, experts believe that they must consult a qualified doctor before going for fasting in Ramazan.

Health experts say that pregnant mothers with disease like diabetics or renal infection should not go for fasting without prior advice from a doctor. ‘Complications might occur even in medically fit pregnant or lactating mothers if they do not take proper food and fluids when fasting during Ramazan,’ is the stance of health experts.

“In the first trimester (first three months of pregnancy), mothers face problems of nausea and vomiting, and they also cannot take plenty of food and fluids, which is necessary for fasting. Mothers in the first trimester - if having complaints of vomiting and nausea - cannot fast, but if they are not feeling too nauseous and can take sufficient diet, they may fast,” said Professor of Gynaecology & Obstetrics at Rawalpindi Medical College Dr Rizwana Chaudhry while talking to ‘The News’.

She said a mother in the second or third trimester might fast but with the condition that she could take proper food and fluids. Normally, a mother during pregnancy or lactation should take high protein foods, including A-class proteins found in fish, meat and chicken, and B-class proteins found in pulses and eggs, adding that she should follow the same criterion when fasting. “However, a mother who is overweight should strictly avoid fats and carbohydrates, as being overweight itself causes complications at the time of the baby’s birth,” said Dr Rizwana.

Talking of the complications, she said that urinary tract infections (UTI) are common in pregnant females and to prevent them, they should avoid dehydration. “Dehydration in pregnant mothers may cause Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT), in which the blood starts clotting in the blood vessels and the clots may travel directly to the heart, causing sudden death. So, pregnant mothers while fasting should take sufficient quantity of water at ‘Sehr’ and ‘Iftar’,” she said.

She said a pregnant or lactating mother, while fasting, should at least take three glasses of water during ‘Sehr’ to avoid dehydration. “Likewise, she should take plenty of fluids at the time of ‘Iftar’ and before going to bed,” she said adding that a pregnant mother during Ramazan should take three litres of water on average daily.

To a query, Dr Rizwana said if a woman could not take a sufficient quantity of food and fluids at the time of ‘Sehr’ because of being incapable of taking large meals at one time, she should quit fasting during pregnancy. “If a pregnant mother is not having adequate food and fluids during fasting, her baby (foetus) might face severe growth retardation,” said Dr Rizwana adding that initially, the growth of the foetus might go normal but with the passage of time, it might decline.

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