Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany found that women who celebrated Ramadan during their pregnancy had lower birth weight babies. Results published magazine PLOS One.
During the month of Ramadan, which lasts for about a month, adult Muslims refrain from eating and drinking during the daylight hours, but can eat during the dark hours.
The meals that Muslims eat after sunset during Ramadan contain more fat and simple carbohydrates than normal meals eaten outside of Ramadan. In addition, the sleeping pattern of the pregnant woman changes as cooking and eating are delayed until later in the day.
Scientists conducted a survey of 326 women whose pregnancy coincided with Ramadan in 2017. Thus, 98 of them celebrated Ramadan, 46 of them completely refused to eat for at least 20 days. The authors reviewed their own and their children’s medical records and compared them with information from those who did not fast.
It turned out that the weight of the newborn babies of mothers who comply with the month of Ramadan is 158 grams less on average. If the mothers fasted during the first trimester of pregnancy, the difference was 353 grams.