Pregnant women who fast during Ramadan are more likely to give birth to smaller babies, but switching to a high-fat diet could mitigate that risk, German researchers report. 

In their study of 326 Muslim women whose pregnancies overlapped with the month of Ramadan in 2017, they found a clear association between maternal fasting and reduced birthweight, particularly during the first trimester. 

Yet the consumption of high-fat content foods during non-fasting hours appeared to have a protective role by moderating this fasting-birthweight relationship. 

“This implies that prenatal counselling on the risk of adverse offspring health outcomes in response to Ramadan fasting during pregnancy, and the potential moderating role of dietary intake, should be provided in early pregnancy, or preconception,” the authors wrote in PLOS ONE.