Can Fasting Ramadan in the Third Trimester in Pregnancy Affects the Fetal Growth.

Many pregnant muslims women fast during Ramadan Since fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a central part of Muslim culture, many women may fear a loss of connection with their communities or would feel guilty if they did not observe Ramadan. Each year, about 400 million out of 1 billion Muslims do this duty. Such tasks like eating, drinking, and smoking are forbidden from sunrise until sunset. Fasting during pregnancy has been always considered as a debatable condition.

Many women ask their obstetricians if fasting is safe for their baby or not? There have been many studies on metabolic changes and different aspects of human health during and after Ramadan .but there have been few studies on the effect of fasting on pregnancy outcome and there are also some controversies in the findings of different studies.

All mothers within the age range of 20 - 35 years and in the 3rd trimester pregnancy (starting from 28 weeks) which is going to be calculated according to the date of the last menstrual period & confirmed ultrasonically, normal healthy women with average body mass index (BMI) and Women included have no medical disorder.

Women who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were subjected an ultrasound fetal biometry every 2 weeks till delivery and assess fetal weight after delivery.

Inclusion criteria

• Age from 20 - 35 years.
• Third trimester pregnancy (starting from 28 weeks) which is going to be calculated according to the date of the last menstrual period & confirmed by ultrasonography.
• Normal healthy women with average body mass index (BMI). Normal range (18.5 to 25).
• Women included have no medical disorder.

Exclusion criteria

• History of systemic disorder.
• Smoking narcotics or alcohol use.
• Have previous history of fetal loss.
• Multiple pregnancies.