Abstract

REVIEW ON HEALTH EFFECTS OF FOODS AVOIDED BY LITERATE BANGLADESHI WOMEN DURING PREGNANCY

*Mariz Sintaha

Abstract

According to an online survey among literate women of Bangladesh, 53% of them avoided raw papaya, 46% avoided ripe papaya, 77% avoided pineapple and 40% avoided coffee consumption during pregnancy. Tea is frequently consumed and caffeinated beverage was few times consumed by most women (47% & 54% respectively). Ripe papaya blend/juice neither has any effect on pregnant rat/fetus nor affects the pregnancy any way. Crude papaya latex or latex extract induces contraction in pregnant or non-pregnant rat uterus in vitro. Unripe papaya can even induce abortion in rat in vivo. The isolated papaya proteinase I has no effect on pregnancy moreover it prevents pre-implantation loss in rat. Papaya seed extract has toxic effect on rat uterine tissue in vitro and prevents pregnancy in rat even in as low dose as 100mg/kg body weight. Neither the unripe pineapple nor extract of pineapple leaf affects pregnancy even in high dose (1000 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg body weight respectively), though pure constituent of some chemical isolated from extract of pineapple leaf showed pre- and post-implantation abortifacient activity even in low dose (30 mg/kg) in one study. Caffeine consumption does not increase the risk of reduced fecundibility, subfecundity, failure of assisted reproductive technology, low birth weight of newborn, pre-term delivery, gestational diabetes and behavior problem of child by maternal consumption in recommended dose of 300 mg/kg body weight. Daily 2 cups of coffee is not found to be associated with neural tube defect and 4 cups of coffee (400mg/day) is associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in human.In rat, high dose maternal caffeine consumption is associated with increased risk of seizure and impaired cognitive ability of child; moderate dose (120 mg/kg body weight) caffeine consumption is associated with increased risk of fatty liver, reduced femur length and neuroendocrine disease in child; and low dose caffeine consumption is associated with increased risk of deformation of bone shaft (30 mg/kg body weight), impaired development of testes (20 mg/kg body weight) and impaired cardiac function (20 mg/kg body weight) of fetus. Tea consumption increases fecundibility (at a dose of 1.5 serving a day) and decreases the risk of developing gestational diabetes but might be associated with increased risk of pre-eclempsia, in human. Maternal cola consumption is not associated with pre-term delivery, low birth weight, baby being small for gestation or behavior problem of children. But cola consumption (even by 1 serving a day) decreases fecundibility.

Keywords: Pregnancy, papaya, pineapple, caffeine.