Indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices of caregivers in Vhembe District, Limpopo province

Health SA Gesondheid

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices of caregivers in Vhembe District, Limpopo province
 
Creator Tulelo, Patience M. Mulaudzi, Fhumulani M.
 
Subject Nursing, Midwifery caregiver; indigenous neonatal care practices; neonate; indigenous knowledge holder; traditional health practitioners
Description Background: Caregivers are offered health information on neonatal care before they are discharged from the healthcare facilities after giving birth. However, they continue to feed and bath neonates in ways that are informed by indigenous traditions. Notably, these ways include the provision of supplementary feeds before 6 months and bathing the neonate as early as possible, which are practices that contradict the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations of neonatal care.Objectives: This study aimed to explore and describe the indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices of caregivers in Vhembe District, Limpopo province.Setting: This study was conducted in Limpopo province at Vhembe District, Makhado Municipality.Methodology: A qualitative, explorative and descriptive enquiry was used to conduct 18 semi-structured individual interviews to explore and describe their indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to select participants. Creswell’s method of data analysis was used to analyse data. Ethical principles were maintained.Results: Two themes with sub-themes resulted from data analysis presenting indigenous neonatal feeding practices and indigenous neonatal bathing practices.Conclusion: This study revealed that caregivers use indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices across age groups and social standing. Younger mothers receive guidance from older women in their families or community. Midwives should know the indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices of the communities they serve to offer relevant culture-sensitive health education.Contributions: This study contributes to the creation of knowledge about indigenous neonatal care practices amongst mothers and caregivers.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor National Research Fund
Date 2021-11-29
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — qualitative research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hsag.v26i0.1632
 
Source Health SA Gesondheid; Vol 26 (2021); 8 pages 2071-9736 1025-9848
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1632/html https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1632/epub https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1632/xml https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/1632/pdf
 
Coverage Africa; South Africa; Limpopo Province, Vhembe District; Makhado municipality 2019-2020 22-77, females, black Africans
Rights Copyright (c) 2021 Patience M. Tulelo, Fhumulani M. Mulaudzi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT