Avoid meat, eggs and lust, pregnant Indians told

NEW DELHI: Pregnant women in India are being advised to stay away from meat, eggs and lust – drawing derision from health experts who slammed the tips yesterday as completely unscientific.

The recommendations are contained in a booklet compiled by the governmentfunded Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy.

Pregnant women must avoid “eggs, non-veg etc” and detach themselves from “desire” and “lust”, said the booklet, extracts of which were published by the media.

“During pregnancy, women ... should have spiritual thoughts, should read the life history of great personalities and should keep themselves in peace,” it went on.

Doctors said the advice bordered on the ridiculous, especially in a country that recorded a staggering 45,000 maternal deaths in 2015, according to the World Health Organisation.

About 174 women die of pregnancyrelated causes in India for every 100,000 live births, compared with just 14 in the US.

“The dietary advice is not scientific at all,” gynaecologist Sharmila Lal said.

“Advising to stay away from nonvegetarian food is ridiculous since malnutrition and anaemia are the biggest problems in our country,” she said.

“In fact if women are used to non-veg food, we encourage them to have it during pregnancy as it is a good source of protein and iron.”

Critics of India’s ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party say unscientific theories in healthcare are increasingly being floated in the name of tradition.

Last month, a nationalist organisation said it was helping Indian couples conceive “superior” babies with high IQs and fair skin through a purification process rooted in ancient texts and mythology. – AFP