Implications of Nutritional Beliefs and Taboos - Hausa and Yoruba Pregnant Women in Lagos Nigeria

One hundred and forty eight middle class urban pregnant Hausa and Yoruba women in the second trimester were randomly sampled and examined for beliefs and taboos. Haemoglobin level of the Yoruba women was significantly higher than their Hausa counterparts 12.9gm%.The mean haemoglobin at booking for the Yoruba was 11.5gm%, while the mean haemoglobin for the Hausa was recorded as 10.5gm%. Mean packed cell volume for both at booking and post for Yoruba was 34.2 and 35.4 while the Hausa was 31.5 and 34.2 respectively Nutrition Anaemia was higher among the Hausa women than the Yoruba 56.7% to 72.9%. Anthropometric measurement of the babies showed the following mean birth weight of their 298 babies in this study was 2.89kg. The incidence of low birth weight in this study for Yoruba was 14.8% while the value for the Hausa was 22.9%. Head circumference and chest circumference median recorded for Yoruba babies were 38.5cm and 32.5cm and the Hausa babies were 32.5cm and 26.5cm respectively. About 75% of the Hausas identified their mothers as instrumental to these taboos and beliefs while the Yorubas identified their mother-in-laws as the source of reinforcement of the taboos and beliefs.