This literature review examines how cultural practices shape prenatal development across three eastern and southern African contexts – Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Guided by a decolonial, feminist, and sociocultural framework, the paper centers African women’s voices and treats culture as a dynamic field of meaning rather than a variable to correct. Drawing on qualitative studies involving nearly 60 women, the review shows that cultural practices influence prenatal development through nutrition, rest, herbal use, intergenerational guidance, and women’s navigation of plural care systems. In Kenya, women emphasized the need for coordinated, culturally safe companionship during pregnancy, noting that “care that was well coordinated and collaborative” enhanced informed decision‑making (Ngotie et al., 2024, p. 7). In Tanzania, restrictive norms around rest and diet were found to compromise maternal wellbeing, including beliefs that a “hustler pregnant mother will give birth to a baby who will also be a hustler” (Felisian et al., 2023, p. 3). Among the Ndau of Zimbabwe, Indigenous knowledge systems – rooted in senior women’s guidance, rituals, and herbal practices—were valued as holistic and sustainable sources of prenatal care. Across contexts, the findings underscore that cultural practices can be protective or harmful depending on interpretation, flexibility, and the quality of communication between women and healthcare providers. The review argues for culturally responsive, dialogical maternal health approaches that respect Indigenous knowledge while addressing practices that undermine wellbeing. It concludes by calling for expanded cross‑context research, mixed‑methods designs, and continued use of decolonial methodologies to deepen understanding of prenatal development in diverse cultural settings.

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Artwork by Ed Tajchman  EarthArtDreams.com