Middle Black Sea Journal of Health Science August 2020; 6(2):257-266 RESEARCH ARTICLE Traditional Practices in Infant Care a Province in Eastern Region of Turkey Ayten Yilmaz Yavuz1, Yeşim Aksoy Derya2, Hacer Gök Uğur3 1Department of Public Health Nursing School of Health, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Rize, Turkey 2Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Inönü University, Malatya, Turkey 3Department of Public Health Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey Received: 03 May 2020, Accepted: 29 August 2020, Published online: 31 August 2020 © Ordu University Institute of Health Sciences, Turkey, 2020 Abstract Objective: This study was conducted to find out the traditional methods applied in infant care in Turkish culture. Methods: This study is a descriptive study in a city in the east of Turkey between February and August 2017. Women who participated in the study were chosen with improbable random sampling method. The data were collected with questionnaire form by using face-to- face interview method. Descriptive statistics were used in data analysis Results: The most common postnatal practices were reciting the azan to the infant’s ear (66.2%) and swaddling (44.4%). In addition, it was found that before the first feeding of the infant, azan was recited (16.2%) and honey was placed on the infant’s mouth (21.4%). The most common practice for the health care of the infant was to cover with a yellow cloth/muslin/blanket to prevent jaundice (47.6%), while the most common spiritual care practices were evil eye bead (37.1%) and to put a Koran on the cradle to prevent the infant from getting sick in the first 40 days (33.6%). Conclusion: It was found that the puerperal women conducted traditional practices such as for umbilical stump to fall off, to prevent jaundice, to recover from jaundice, for moniliasis, for diaper rash, for cough, for diarrhea, for constipation, for fever, for gas for infants who cry and who are uneasy all the time, before the first feeding religious ritual in the infants care. Key words: Home care, Infant, Traditional Suggested Citation: Yilmaz Yavuz A, Aksoy Derya Y, Gok Ugur H. Traditional Practices in Infant Care a Province in Eastern Region of Turkey. Middle Black Sea Journal of Health Science, 2020; 6(2):257-266. Introduction Address for correspondence/reprints: In addition to having significance in terms of monitoring and assessing health programs and Ayten Yilmaz Yavuz determining future policies, neonatal, post- neonatal infant and child deaths are also indicators Telephone number: +90 (464) 214 10 59/3913 of the society’s development levels (Toruner ve Buyukgonenc, 2012). While infant death rate has ORCID-ID 0000-0002-5861-4254 been reported as 31.7 per thousand globally, as 9.8 per thousand in WHO Europe and as 5.8 per E-mail: [email protected] thousand in high-income group families, it is reported to reach 7.3 per thousand in 2016 from DOI: 10.19127/mbsjohs.731235 52.6 per thousand in 1993 (Mollahaliloglu et al., Note: This study was presented as a poster presentation at the 2011; Health Staistics Yearbook, 2016). It can be National and International participation Congress of Home seen that the decrease in the last 23 years still did Health and Care, 23-25 November 2017, Istanbul/Turkey Traditional Practices in Infant Care not reach the level of developed country. The fact (http://www.openepi.com) sample size was that prenatal and natal reasons rank first are among determined as at least 426 puerperas with a 0.05 reasons for infant and child deaths shows that level of significance, 97% confidence interval and problems about newborn and mother are still on the 80% ability of representing the universe. Until the forefront in our country. There are various determined sample size was reached, women who postnatal beliefs and practices in the world and in gave birth in the aforementioned hospital and who our country such as cutting the umbilical cord, met the inclusion criteria were chosen through placental practices, breastfeeding, practices for the improbable random sampling method. The umbilical stump’s falling off and practices after the inclusion criteria were participants’ being literate, stump falls off, naming the baby, incubus, practices not having any psychiatric diagnosis and absence on the 40th day of the baby, bathing, baby’s talking of postnatal complications in the mother and the a lot and beautifully, choice of profession, evil eye, infant. In the collection of data, the most suitable jaundice, fever, moniliasis, diaper rash, rash, time for the mother and the infant was taken into cough, diarrhea, phlegm and tapeworm. Economic consideration and the data were collected by the reasons, lack of information and service about researchers through face to face interview method. maternal and infant health are determinants in preferring such traditional practices (Bozkaya et Ethical issues al., 2008; Kesterton and Cleland, 2009; Boer and Before starting the study, written permission Lamxay, 2009; Bulbul et al., 2009; Gokduman and from the institution the research was conducted in Balkaya, 2010; Titaley et al., 2010; Amin et al., and approval from University Non-Invasive 2010). Clinical Researches Ethical Board (decision Since infants’ immune, central nervous and number: 08/06.01.2017) were taken. In addition, gastrointestinal systems are not completely the participants were informed about the research developed, alternative methods are more and told that their individual information would be important. For this reason, it is important to protected and volunteers were included in the determine which of these practices are useful and study. which are harmful to prevent harmful ones from being used by the society and to encourage useful Instruments ones for being used. In addition, health For data collection, “Introductory Information professionals should inform mothers on the Form” which was prepared to find out the socio- subject, support mothers for making the right demographic characteristics of the puerperas (age, choice and make sure that mothers are aware of the level of education, state of working, level of consequences and side effects of traditional income, etc) and “Traditional Practices practices (Sevig and Tanriverdi, 2014). Information Form” which was prepared in line with The purpose of this study is to find out the the literature (Celasin et al., 2008; Vurur et al., traditional infant care practices in puerperas in the 2009; Kesterton and Cleland, 2009; Gokduman and puerperal service of the Training and Research Balkaya, 2010) to find out the traditional practices Hospital in a city in the east of Turkey. used in infant care were used. Traditional Practices Information Form includes questions about Methods traditional practices conducted in the hospital or at home after the baby is born (first Study Design and Setting feeding/breastfeeding of the baby, bathing the This study, which was designed as a descriptive baby, belly button care, swaddling, jaundice, diaper study to find out traditional practices in infant care, rash, rash, fever, gas problems and spiritual care was conducted in the puerperal service of the (baby’s not being scared, not getting ill in the first Training and Research Hospital in a city in the east forty days). of Turkey. The universe of the study consists of puerperas who gave birth in the aforementioned Data analysis hospital between February and August 2017. The The data were assessed with SPSS 16.0 for number of women who gave birth in the Windows software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). aforementioned hospital between January 2016 and In the study, descriptive statistics (numbers, December 2016 is 4425. In the calculation of percentages, averages, Standard deviation) were sample size, OpenEpi, version 3 general use used to find out the traditional methods used in statistical software was used 258 MBSJHS; 6(2), 2020 Traditional Practices in Infant Care infant care and the participants’ introductory institutions with a rate of 73.7%. It was found that characteristics. 19.5% of the participants did not bathe the infant for the stump to fall off, 47.7% covered with a Results yellow cloth/muslin/blanket to prevent jaundice, When the distribution of participants’ socio- 41.1% took the infant to doctor for jaundice. The demographic characteristics was examined, it was most used two practices were "taking to found that their average age was 27.08±5.66, doctor/getting medicine (32.3%)", "cleaning with 44.1% were high school graduates, 39.9% did not carbonated water, throwing cotton cleaned with have a job and 72.8% had nuclear family. 66.9% of carbonated water on the ceiling and believing that the participants stated that they lived in city center the infant gets well when it falls down, making the and 88.5% stated that they had social security. infant drink water, cleaning with starch, cleaning 63.6% of the participants stated that their income the mouth with water from the container dogs drink was equal to their expenditure. 94.8% of the water, putting on ring (24.6 %)” for moniliasis, participants stated that their spouses had a job and "taking to doctor/applying cream (33.0%)", "using 41.8% stated that their spouses’ level of education powder (14.6%)" for diaper rash, " taking to was high school (Table 1). doctor/using medicine (38.2%)", "using herbal products (26.7%)" for cough, " taking to Table 1. Distribution of participants’ socio- doctor/using medicine (41.3%)", "making the demographic characteristics