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Article Dans Une Revue Addiction and Substance Abuse Année : 2022

Clay eating in pregnancy in French Guiana: How does one understand the practices and act for prevention?

Résumé

Geophagy is described in most countries of the world as a practice observed in pregnant women. In industrialized countries, it results from migrant populations who carry with them their cultural habits and practices. This is the case in France and more particularly in Guiana, an overseas territory. Originally used to treat the ills of pregnancy, it is today considered to be dangerous for the woman and her unborn child. A survey involving 788 pregnant women examining substance use during pregnancy was conducted in three maternity wards in Guiana in 2017-2018. This survey on the Pemba (clay in local language) issue also performed interviews and observations with a dozen women and a dozen health professionals in 2019. Among all women who gave birth, just over 15% of women used Pemba while pregnant. Just over half of them lived in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni territory. These Pemba users were ten times more likely to have Creole English as their mother tongue, and two times more likely to have never been to school or have achieved an education level lower than eight years. They were also more likely to live alone and consume alcohol, more particularly beer, with T-ACE scores higher than 1. Moreover, this profile of female Pemba consumers is illustrated by the life stories and pregnancy details of two of these women. In French Guiana, geophagy seems to be considered an addiction in the same way as alcohol since it is considered a danger by health professionals working around pregnancy. Pemba consumers feel that the traditional use thereof is stigmatized. It is therefore necessary for them to be educated on the dangers posed by Pemba, not only to themselves but also to their unborn child, especially because consuming Pemba is an ancestral practice for these women and is traditionally considered to be safe.
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Dates et versions

hal-04003898 , version 1 (24-02-2023)

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Laurence Simmat-Durand, Stéphanie Toutain. Clay eating in pregnancy in French Guiana: How does one understand the practices and act for prevention?. Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2022, 1 (1), pp.25-32. ⟨10.46439/addiction.1.006⟩. ⟨hal-04003898⟩
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