Determination of Pregnant Women's Views on Fasting and Religious Attitudes: A Cross-sectional Study in Türkiye

Objective: This study aims to determine pregnant women's views on Ramadan fasting, their religious attitudes, and the relationship between them. Materials and Methods: The study was designed as a descriptive and cross-sectional study and was conducted from the July-October 2021 with 252 pregnant women. The data were collected using the "Pregnancy Identification Form", "Opinions on Fasting During Pregnancy Form", and "Religious Attitude Scale". Results: Of the pregnant women, 37.7% stated that Ramadan fasting should not be practised during pregnancy, according to Islam, and 29.0% of the pregnant women stated that they fasted during Ramadan. Pregnant women were found to have a high level of religious attitude with a mean total score of 35.57±5.62. The mean behavioral subscale score of women who fasted during Ramadan during pregnancy was lower than the mean score of women who did not fast (p=0.023). Conclusions: It was found that one out of every three women fasted during pregnancy, their knowledge and opinions about fasting during pregnancy were insufficient, and they did not know the effects of fasting on maternal and infant health. Women who did not fast during pregnancy were found to have higher religious attitudes than those who fasted.