Eating snails during pregnancy can’t make babies sluggish, say nutritionists

Cooked snails. Photo: Precious Core

Nutritionists have dismissed the belief that eating snails during pregnancy makes babies sluggish, stressing that the animal protein is a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc, which pregnant women need to stay healthy and support their babies’ development.

 They noted that snails could contribute protein and several minerals to a pregnant woman’s diet, but stated that it should be eaten as part of a varied diet rather than regarded as an essential or sole source of nutrition.

 In exclusive interviews with PUNCH Healthwise, the nutritionists corrected the belief that eating snails during pregnancy could affect a baby’s physical behaviour or cause excessive salivation after birth, stressing that such claims had no scientific basis.

 PUNCH Healthwise reports that pregnant women need iron, zinc and other essential nutrients to support the healthy growth of the baby and to prevent anaemia and its consequent complications in the mother.

 According to the World Health Organisation, anemia is a condition where the number of red blood cells or the hemoglobin concentration within them drops lower than normal.

 During pregnancy, anaemia could cause premature birth, low birth weight, bleeding during delivery, and maternal death.

The World Health Organisation recommends daily iron and folic acid supplementation during pregnancy because women require additional nutrients to meet their own needs and those of the developing baby.

 According to the National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey 2021, 32 per cent of pregnant women in Nigeria had anaemia, while 82 per cent had inadequate iron intake.

The survey also found that 46 per cent of pregnant women had inadequate zinc intake and 92 per cent had inadequate calcium intake, underscoring the importance of a varied diet during pregnancy.

 PUNCH Healthwise had previously reported that snail was among foods some pregnant women were forbidden from eating because of cultural and personal beliefs that consuming it could make babies sluggish.

 Commenting on the matter, the Assistant Director of Dietetics at the Lagos State Health Service Commission, Olusola Malomo, said the belief that snails made babies sluggish was not supported by science.

 “There is no scientific basis. It’s one of the myths or some of the misconceptions or some of the fallacies that surround food hygiene,” he stated.

 Malomo explained that snail was an animal-protein that could contribute to the nutritional needs of pregnant women, particularly where it was available to them.

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 He stressed that adequate protein was important during pregnancy because of the nutritional demands of the developing baby.

 “Pregnant women are encouraged to eat protein abundantly for the good of the child,” Malomo stated.

 However, he noted that snail was not an indispensable source of protein because pregnant women could obtain the nutrient from other affordable foods.

 “The quality of the snail, well, it’s not so significant like that, because there are other sources of protein that are available and that are cheap that the expectant mother can easily afford,” he explained.

 Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, an Assistant Director of Nutrition and Dietetics, Olufunmilola Ogunmiluyi, said snail meat could be a useful source of animal protein during pregnancy and provides several minerals needed by the mother and developing baby.

 “Snail meat can be a useful source of high-quality animal protein for a pregnant woman, supporting the rapid growth of the baby and the changes occurring in the mother’s body,” she said.

Ogunmiluyi noted that snail meat could also contribute iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc to the diet.

She explained that iron was particularly important during pregnancy because the mother’s blood volume increased while the developing baby also needed oxygen.

 “Snail meat can make a meaningful contribution to iron intake, which is particularly important during pregnancy because the mother’s blood volume increases and the developing baby needs oxygen,” Ogunmiluyi stated.

 She added that zinc was essential for normal cell division and foetal growth.

 “Zinc is needed for the baby’s cells to divide and grow normally,” she explained.

 The nutritionist, however, cautioned that the nutritional value of snails did not make it a substitute for a diverse pregnancy diet or prescribed prenatal supplements.

 “Snail meat should be viewed as one component of a diverse pregnancy diet because it contributes several important minerals at the same time, but it cannot supply every nutrient a pregnant woman needs,” Ogunmiluyi stated.