Copyright © 2018 Ester Mulenga et. al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. International Journal of Advanced Nursing Studies, 7 (1) (2018) 68-71 International Journal of Advanced Nursing Studies Website: www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJANS doi: 10.14419/ijans.v7i1.12165 Technical paper Taboos, traditional practices and beliefs affecting pregnancy and childbirth in Ohangwena, Oshana and Oshikoto Region: University of Namibia fourth year nursing students’ rural placement experience of 2016, Oshakati campus, Namibia Ester Mulenga 1 *, Sabina Aisheoiwa David 1 , Lucia Ndahambelela Pinehas 1 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Namibia *Corresponding author E-mail: emulenga@unam.na Abstract Traditional beliefs and practices can influence the health of the people. The purpose of this article was to describe taboos and traditional practices related to pregnancy and childbirth. There was no actual research done, but taboos and traditional practices were identified dur- ing rural placement of nursing students in rural health facilities. The results indicated that there are different taboos and traditional prac- tices related to pregnancy and childbirth, some of them are beneficial and others are detrimental to the health of the mother and the baby. In conclusion, there is a need for health care providers to strengthen health education on the importance of diet and also to educate moth- ers and community members on the taboos which have negative effect on the mother and babies. Keywords: Childbirth; Pregnancy; Rural Placement; Taboos; Traditional Practices 1. Introduction There are different taboos, cultural beliefs and traditional practices related to pregnancy and childbirth in various countries in the world. Some of these taboos and traditional practices are harmful to both mother and baby (M`soka et al. (2015). Nursing students need to understand taboos, cultural beliefs practiced by communi- ty members to be able to educate such members to avoid harmful practices. Hence, the University of Namibia (UNAM) is mandated to train highly qualified and competent professional nurses who are able to educate the community about taboos and traditional practices which have an adverse effect on the mothers and baby. Nursing students are placed in rural health facilities to be exposed to situations in rural communities, since many taboos and tradi- tional beliefs are practiced by rural communities. In 2016, as in the previous years, nursing students from University of Namibia, School of Nursing, Oshakati campus were placed in different health facilities in the north western regions of Namibia which include Ohangwena, Oshana and Oshikoto regions. During their rural placement students were expected to conduct community midwifery projects. The objectives of community midwifery pro- jects include determining and interpreting statistics related to ma- ternal care; collaborating with community leaders and members; identifying and describing different taboos and traditional practic- es affecting pregnancy and childbirth as well as conducting home visits to complete case studies on antenatal and postnatal care (UNAM 2016). This article focuses on the taboos and traditional practices related to pregnancy and child birth as identified and described by the student nurses during their rural placement of 2016. 2. Literature review There are different taboos and traditional practices that affect pregnancy and childbirth whereby some of them are related to food prohibition. 2.1. Food taboos affecting pregnant and lactating women Although sufficient supplies of nutrients are needed by mother and fetus, pregnant women are mostly targeted by food taboos than any other members of the society (Arzoaquoi et al. 2015). During pregnancy, the physiological nutrients demand is high, therefore a pregnant woman need to increase the quality of food one has to consume (Zerfu et al. 2016). Ugwa (2016) indicated that food taboos contribute to maternal undernutrition during pregnancy and lactation. In some part of the world, pregnant and lactating moth- ers are prohibited to eat nutritious and beneficial food due to ta- boos (Ugwa 2016). According to Meyer-Rochow (2009) as cited in Ugwa (2016), food taboos recognised by a particular group results in cohesion and assist the group to maintain its identity. According to Arzoaquoi et al. (2015), some food taboos can be helpful during pregnancy for example shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish need to be avoided during pregnancy as they contain high level of mercury which can be harmful to the devel- oping fetus. However, the prohibition of certain food and inade- quate knowledge about the benefits of some food deprive the pregnant and lactating women the nutrients they need (Ugwa 2016). M`soka et al. (2015) indicated that avoiding some food