Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine opinions and experiences of Muslim pregnant women about Ramadan fasting in Turkey. The study had a descriptive, phenomenological design and included 17 Muslim pregnant women living in Turkey. Content analysis and word cloud analysis were performed. The content analysis revealed two themes. The most frequent words in the word cloud analysis were fasting, pregnancy, Ramadan, fast, religious duty, health, observing a missed fast, relief, concern, baby, thirsty and hungry. The findings of the study showed that religious beliefs, experiences, family and society pressured the pregnant women to keep Ramadan fasts. However, due to feeling worried about their own physical and psychological health and their infants, some of the women did not go on a fast. It can be recommended that pregnant women wanting to keep their fasts should be offered information about possible risks of fasting.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. They are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
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The authors would like to thank all of the women who accepted to participate in the study.
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Uludağ, E., Göral Türkcü, S. Ramadan Fasting as a Religious Obligation: A Qualitative Study on Opinions and Experiences of Muslim Pregnant Women about Fasting in Turkey. J Relig Health 61, 2960–2974 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01588-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01588-4