BACKGROUND: The role of prevalent culturally driven beliefs and practices in influencing home-based newborn care has not been adequately studied, especially in North India. METHODS: The study was conducted in 28 villages under Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project (CRHSP), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). A total of 415 mothers who had a baby in the second month of life, at the time of the visit for data collection were interviewed using pre-tested questionnaire. RESULTS: Nearly 77% of mothers reported some beliefs/practices with regard to care of the cord. Similarly, 81.0% mothers had beliefs regarding taking the baby out of the house for the first time after birth. Out of all the mothers that were interviewed, around 11% did not prefer their baby to be weighed at frequent intervals because according to them, doing so could lead to slowing of the growth of the baby. CONCLUSION: Traditional knowledge and practices must be considered before developing neonatal health care intervention strategies.
BACKGROUND: The role of prevalent culturally driven beliefs and practices in influencing home-based newborn care has not been adequately studied, especially in North India. METHODS: The study was conducted in 28 villages under Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project (CRHSP), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). A total of 415 mothers who had a baby in the second month of life, at the time of the visit for data collection were interviewed using pre-tested questionnaire. RESULTS: Nearly 77% of mothers reported some beliefs/practices with regard to care of the cord. Similarly, 81.0% mothers had beliefs regarding taking the baby out of the house for the first time after birth. Out of all the mothers that were interviewed, around 11% did not prefer their baby to be weighed at frequent intervals because according to them, doing so could lead to slowing of the growth of the baby. CONCLUSION: Traditional knowledge and practices must be considered before developing neonatal health care intervention strategies.
Authors: Elizabeth L Nabiwemba; Lynn Atuyambe; Bart Criel; Patrick Kolsteren; Christopher Garimoi Orach Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2014-06-02 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Sarmila Mazumder; Sunita Taneja; Rajiv Bahl; Pavitra Mohan; Tor A Strand; Halvor Sommerfelt; Betty R Kirkwood; Nidhi Goyal; Henri Van Den Hombergh; Jose Martines; Nita Bhandari Journal: BMJ Date: 2014-08-29