Are you fasting during the Ramadan and are you pregnant? Fasting is then an extra heavy task. Fasting is allowed, but not required. You may have doubts about whether you are doing the right thing by fasting. Or you get physical complaints during Ramadan. You can always contact us for advice, where we take your wishes into account as much as possible. We respect your wish to fast with family and friends, but we may advise you to stop fasting for medical reasons.
Varying research results are known about the possible effects of fasting on the baby. You can read more about that here (Dutch).
What can you suffer from while fasting?
- You can get a headache because you don’t take fluids or food during the day, especially during the first few days of fasting.
- This can also make you feel nauseous.
- You may feel dizzy and light-headed or pass out. This is often due to a drop in your blood pressure and fluctuations in your blood pressure.
- Staying up late and getting up early to eat and pray together can make you feel very tired.
You may have had these complaints during your pregnancy. They may be aggravated by fasting. In any case, discuss them with us. We can then give you targeted advice.
Breastfeeding
Here are some tips for breastfeeding during Ramadan:
- Drink and eat enough when you can eat
- Let your baby drink with you as much as possible during the night. It may then need to be installed less often during the day.
- Express some extra breast milk at night so that you can give it to your baby during the day.
- Your milk production could decrease during the fast. Discuss your doubts or questions about breastfeeding during Ramadan with your midwife, the doctor at the health center or a lactation consultant.
