Table 3. Reasons for avoidance of food during pregnancy as reported in the sources, divided by categories of taboo focus.

Frequency values of reasons higher than 1 are indicated in parenthesis.

Big baby and/or difficult delivery	Varied physiological complications	No or unspecified physiological complications
Big baby (25); Excessive weight-gain and a risky delivery (8); Difficult delivery (6); Excessive weight and difficult delivery (5); Excessive weight, difficult delivery and possible death of the mother (4); Upside down baby during delivery (2); Late difficult delivery, the baby doesn’t want to born (2); Baby doesn’t want want to born, big tummy; Baby will grow too big causing complications during labour; Baby will grow too big causing obstructed labour; Birth obstruction; Complicated delivery; Difficulties during labour; The child will be too big, and it will be difficult for him to come out; Excessive weight; Heavy bleeding at delivery; Haemorrhage during delivery due to sugar; Haemorrhage and painful delivery; Late and difficult delivery; Pain during delivery	Miscarriage (30); Bleeding (4); Epilepsy (4); Gastrointestinal problems (3); Allergy (2); Clubfooted child (3); Excessive belching (2); Nausea (2); Nausea or disgust (2); Respiratory problems (2); Skin problems (2); The baby has fits (2); Amplified morning sickness; Anal pain after delivery; Asphyxia; Baby deformity; Baby develops cough; Big placenta; Cleft-lip; Death; Deformed or paralyzed baby; Deformity; Disability; Drooling; Easier to get bacterial infection of the skin for the baby; Excessive drooling; Feces during delivery; Generalized weakness; Giddiness in the mother, skin disease, beriberi and fits in the baby; Hairless; Headaches and itching; Heartburn; Mother will have difficulties to walk; Mouth injury; Respiratory and skin problems; Shortness of breath; Skin allergy and sputum; Skin disease; Skin problems, sickness, death; Soares and very long head; Sticky placenta; Stillborn; Swollen feet; Pregnancy could last up to twelve month; The perineum does not dry out properly after birth; They produce gas in the woman; Vascular pain; Toe abnormalities; Weakness of limbs	Animal’s too strong spirit causes severe illness (24); The child takes the characteristics of the animal (13); Illness for child or parents (8); Harmful due to lot of flavour, not fresh enough (7); Mother killed by the spirits (4); The plant transmits its dark colour to the baby (3); Baby cries a lot at birth (3); Harmful (2); Sore eyes (2); No skeleton (2); Unintelligent (2); Too cold (2); Too hot (2); Baby can develop a hand like the animal; Baby skin will be red like burned; Baby will have skin with scales like a snake; Baby would cry like flying fox; Formation of sticky layer of fat around the new-born; Chickenlike skin; Child behaves like a dog or mute; Child does not sleep at night; Child only has two descendants; Baby has coarse skin like sharks; Dangerous birth; Foetal abnormality; Hairless child (like an egg); Baby has fear like an armadillo; Hormonal changes; Horns and webbed feet (like ducks); Hyperactivity; Lewdness; Long delivery like chickens; Not appreciated in general; Rice will stick to baby’s skin; Sickness; The baby becomes sluggish and salivate excessively like a snail; Twins (due to the duality of the doubled plants); Ungainly long legs; Unsightly large mouth; Wild child like dogs