TY - JOUR
T1 - Food Beliefs and Practices During Pregnancy in Ghana
T2 - Implications for Maternal Health Interventions
AU - de-Graft Aikins, Ama
PY - 2014/9
Y1 - 2014/9
N2 - Ghanaian women's food beliefs and practices during pregnancy and the scope for developing more effective maternal health interventions were explored in this study. Thirty-five multiethnic Ghanaian women between the ages of 29 and 75 were interviewed about pregnancy food beliefs and practices. I show that, based on the data analysis, their knowledge about food was drawn from lifeworlds (family and friends), educational settings, health professionals, mass media, and body-self knowledge (unique pregnancy experiences). Core lay ideas converged with expert knowledge on maternal health nutrition. Multiple external factors (e.g., economics, cultural representations of motherhood) and internal factors (e.g., the unpredictable demands of the pregnant body) influenced pregnancy food practices. I suggest and discuss a need for culturally situated multilevel interventions.
AB - Ghanaian women's food beliefs and practices during pregnancy and the scope for developing more effective maternal health interventions were explored in this study. Thirty-five multiethnic Ghanaian women between the ages of 29 and 75 were interviewed about pregnancy food beliefs and practices. I show that, based on the data analysis, their knowledge about food was drawn from lifeworlds (family and friends), educational settings, health professionals, mass media, and body-self knowledge (unique pregnancy experiences). Core lay ideas converged with expert knowledge on maternal health nutrition. Multiple external factors (e.g., economics, cultural representations of motherhood) and internal factors (e.g., the unpredictable demands of the pregnant body) influenced pregnancy food practices. I suggest and discuss a need for culturally situated multilevel interventions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84905637114&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/07399332.2014.926902
DO - 10.1080/07399332.2014.926902
M3 - Article
C2 - 25116652
AN - SCOPUS:84905637114
SN - 0739-9332
VL - 35
SP - 954
EP - 972
JO - Health Care for Women International
JF - Health Care for Women International
IS - 7-9
ER -