Thesis (M Med.(Family Medicine))--University of Limpopo, 2008. / Objective: To determine what proportion of pregnant women attending antenatal care in Mecklenburg Hospital eat soil. Study Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Mecklenburg Hospital. Results: A total 273 pregnant women participated in the study, of which 85% eat soil. The majority (74%) were single, mean age of 26 years. About seventy-eight percent had secondary education. Most of the women were unemployed. The majority of women believed that soil eating gives energy, taste nice, makes women feel strong, and makes stomach feel full. The other reason given by these women is that soil eating protects unborn baby from poison, gives nutrients to unborn baby, prevent prolonged labor, stops morning sickness. Conclusion: We conclude that the majority of pregnant women seen at Mecklenburg Hospital eat soil. There was not direct relationship between education level and nutritional reasons for eating soil. Furthermore, fetal and maternal reasons for eating soil were not associated with education level.