Fasting in Ramadan and preterm labour

ABSTRACT

A cross-sectional multicentre study involving 322 women in the third trimester of pregnancy was conducted to determine whether or not fasting in Ramadan in late pregnancy would lead to preterm labour 167 women were fasting; the other 155, who were not fasting, constituted a control group. No significant differences were found between the study and control groups regarding mode of delivery, fetal weight and Apgar score. There was, however, a significant reduction in the incidence of preterm labour in the study group. Our results showed that there is no risk of preterm labour in healthy women fasting in Ramadan during the third trimester of pregnancy