Potentially harmful traditional practices during pregnancy and postpartum

Objectives Culturally embedded attitudes and beliefs affect people's lifestyle and health. Traditional practices such as bathing the baby in salt water to prevent him from smelling bad, regarding pregnancy as a shameful situation, and concealing pregnancy, may cause harm. This descriptive study aimed at identifying potentially harmful practices of married women during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum, in Turkey. Methods The sample studied consisted of 121 women. A questionnaire was used to gather information during face-to-face interviews. Results Eighty percent of the respondents were literate/primary school graduates, 45% had given birth at home. The most potentially harmful practices among women were swaddling (81%), dressing the baby with a sand-filled nappy ('holluk') (35%), and bathing the baby in salt water (40%). A relationship between traditional postpartum practices and demographic characteristics of women such as age, educational status, age at marriage and birth place was observed (p < 0.05). Conclusions Turkish women still carry out certain traditional practices during and after pregnancy, some of which adversely affect them or their babies. It is important to gain an understanding of these potentially harmful customs and cultural beliefs so that health education programmes can be implemented that dissuade women from resorting to these practices.