Study on the Customs of South Indian Mothers during pregnancy

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Study on the Customs of South Indian Mothers during pregnancy 

AUTHOR   Dr .A. K. AVASARALA
                      MBBS,M.D.
PROFESSOR &HEAD
DEPT OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE &  EPIDEMIOLOGY
PRATHIMA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, KARIMNAGAR,A.P..
INDIA : +91505417
avasarala@yahoo.com
   

Introduction 

• Customs in a community will play a key role in its health promotion.
• Some of these customs positively contribute to increase the health of the mother and the child while some affect them adversely.

Introduction 

• Most of the customs  will have  a cultural background rather than a scientific basis
• In this study, it is attempted  to bring out the various social customs prevalent among the south Indian mothers during pregnancy

Learning objectives 

• To know the various social customs practiced by the south Indian mothers during pregnancy.
• To know the reasons behind these social customs

Performance objectives  

• To educate the women ,the elders and  dais (dais are old women who will conduct deliveries in villages) about the positive and negative influences of the social customs
• and to change their attitudes.

Study population 

• 50   urban women   who attended urban Maternal child health centre ,Chengalrao peta , Visakhapatnam)
• 50 women from antenatal clinic at urban slum, kallupaakalu  living in urban slums
• 50 women in rural villages of rural health centre ,Simhachalam
•                 =Total 150 women

METHODOLOGY 

• By survey  using a pretested questionnaire enquiring about the-----
• General customs
• Dietary practices
• Customs regarding rest, personal hygiene& breast feeding

• General Customs

Seemantham  

• In Indian culture, motherhood is sacred and brings proud ness to the woman and her parents
• This is exhibited in the form of Seemantham .
• It is the celebration that   the child attained viability

Seemantham ( Bangle ceremony) 

• As soon as the fetus becomes viable by 7^th month, the parents of the pregnant woman proudly celebrate by inviting all  parous women around .
• Each of them will put a pair of bangles on the hands of the pregnant woman and blesses  the pregnant woman to have safe delivery and healthy child.

Place of delivery 

• Usually women prefer parent’s home for the first delivery .They will have fear  for first pregnancy and they feel relaxed at their birth place ,hence the preference.

• They prefer  mother -in-law’s homes for later deliveries. This may be with the purpose of sharing the burden.

Travel preferences 

• For the fear of abortion, mothers prefer to travel only after 7^th  or 9^th month i.e. after the fetus attained viability.
• After child birth  , they return to their husband’s house only after 3^rd or  5^th month. This may be due to avoid early sexual contact.

Waist belt use 

• Wearing the waist belt is very common custom . The main reason appears to avoid distended pot belly development after delivery.
• They claim that gas will accumulate in abdomen after delivery and causes protuberant belly, if it is not tied with a towel .

Ear plugging  

• A very common  rural custom of covering the ears with a soft cloth or plugging the ears with cotton wool  to prevent entry of air into ear.
• They think that they will get fever  and earaches if it is not done.

WEARING SLIPPERS 

• Rural women, not wearing the slippers antenatally , also wear them when they become pregnant to avoid wet feet and thereby fever.

Eclipses 

• All pregnant women stay indoors during eclipses for the fear of ultra violet irradiation casing  congenital defects in the children. 

PREVALENCE OF GENERAL CUSTOMS  

80 

100

 

85 

100 

92 

100 

Wearing of slippers
Staying indoor during eclipse

90 

80 

50 

Ear plugging

96 

82 

60 

Wearing of waist belt 

80 

70 

90 

Preference of 7th month (Antenatally) and 5th month postnatally for travel

90 

90 

90 

Preference of mother-in-law’s home for third pregnancy

70 

90 

90 

Preference of mother’s home for first two pregnancies 

30 

04 

70
 

Seemantham
(Bangle wearing ceremony) 
RURAL
MOTHERS
N=50
(%) 
URBAN SLUM
MOTHERS
N=50
(%) 
URBAN
MOTHERS
N=50
(%) 
CUSTOMS

REASONS FOR GENERAL CUSTOMS 

• Wearing of slippers
• Staying indoor during eclipse

• Ear plugging

• Wearing of waist belt

• Preference of 7th month (Antenatally) and 5th month postnatally for travel

• Preference of mother-in-law’s home for third pregnancy

• Preference of mother’s home for first two pregnancies

• Seemantham
• (Bangle wearing ceremony)

CUSTOMS  

To avoid wet feet and fever (92%)
Fear of congenital defects in the child.
To prevent earache (70%) 
To avoid pot belly(80%) 
Traditional (92%) Abortion risk passed away (8%) 
Traditional (75%) Sharing the burden (25%) 
Traditional (92%) Better care (75%) 
Traditional (90%) 

REASONS

• Dietary customs

Water consumption during pregnancy 

• All pregnant women consume less water during and after pregnancy
• Antenatally they are afraid of water logging of the body and postnatally they wish to get dried up as soon as possible.

• Hence mother in laws or elders  will allow only hot water, not cold water,  to drink as it cannot be consumed much. 

Food practices 

• Antenatally, food quantity is reduced by rural women for the fear of obstructed labour by big baby whereas with  urban women this is less practiced.

• Quantity is increased postnatally by all women to get rid of weakness and to increase milk secretion.

Food restrictions 

• Fish is avoided by  rural women for the fear of causing pruritis.
• Papaya is universally forbidden  thinking it is an abortifacient.
• Greendal is restricted  for fear of infections  in the child and the mother.
• Green leafy vegetables were restricted for fear of loose motions in the child.

Special food items 

• Kayam- a  special food preparation which is made up of jaggery, asafetida, cloves will be eaten daily  for 3 days  postnatally by most of the rural mothers to get the uterus  involuted quickly.
• Fried jeera( a spice) rice  along with the food  to warm up the body postnatally will be taken by rural mothers.
• Alcohol:-Few pregnant mothers will consume alcohol for the same purpose
• All the  postnatal women think ,if they don’t keep their body warm ,they will go into shock.

PREVALENCE OF DIETARY CUSTOMS  

RURAL  MOTHERS

N=50

(%)  

URBAN SLUM   MOTHERS

N=50

(%)  

URBAN   MOTHERS

N=50

(%)  

CUSTOMS 
 

78

60

02
 

30

30
 

22

5
 

Special food items:

• Kayam
• Fried Jera
• Alchol

74

100

90

84

64
 

70

96

64

76

72
 

24

92

24

50

24 

Food restrictions:

• Fish
• Papaya
• Greendal
• Pumpkin
• Green leafy vegetables

70 

70 

30 

40 

30 

80 

• Less  food-antenatally
• More food postnatally

60

94 

37

90 

30

80 

• Hot water antenatally
• Hot water postnatally

90 

90 

80 

Restricting Drinking water

REASONS FOR DIETARY CUSTOMS  

Special food items:

• Kayam
• Fried Jera
• Alchol

Food restrictions:

• Fish
• Papaya
• Greendal
• Pumpkin
• Green leafy vegetables

• Less  food-antenatally

• More food postnatally

• Hot water antenatally
• Hot water postnatally

Restricting Drinking water 

CUSTOMS  

• To get dried up postnatally (68%)
• To keep body warm (60%)
• To prevent for shock (2%)

• Pruritis (77%)
• Abortifacient (60%) elders advice(14%)
• Infection to mother & child (80%)
• Peripheral neuritis (82%)
• Diarrhoea in child (75%)

For fear of big baby and difficulty labor(16%) Indigestion (15%)
To get rid of weakness (54%) increased hunger (35%) to increase milk secretion (12%)

Cannot drink more (75%)
Fear of water logging of body(70%) 

REASONS

• Customs regarding:-
• Rest&work
• Personal hygiene,
• Breast feeding

Rest &work 

• Antenatally, rest will be taken during pregnancy by all women, more so in urban women.
• Postnatally, all women prefer to take rest to ease their weakness and regain their strength .

Personal hygiene 

• Rural women will be given head bath on 11^th day as the vaginal discharges stop by that day.
• Till then, they will take sponge bath only.

Breast feeding 

• Colostrum is discarded  mainly by rural women due to their illiteracy. They call it witch’s milk.
• Feeding is commenced on the first day by half of the women only.
• If feverish, feeding will be stopped.

REST, HYGIENE& BREAST FEEDING CUSTOMS 

RURAL  MOTHERS

N=50

(%)  

URBAN slum   MOTHERS

N=50

(%)  

URBAN   MOTHERS

N=50

(%)  

CUSTOMS 
 

90

30

75
 

78

50

75
 

10

70

80 

Breast feeding:

• Colostrums discarding
• Starting of breast feeding on 1st day
• Privacy during breast feeding

90

40
 

90

40
 

90

66 

Personal hygiene:

• Head both on 11th day
• Hot water bath

60

62
 

70

57
 

76

80 

Rest:

• Antenatally
• Postnatally

REST, HYGINE& BREAST FEEDING CUSTOMS 

Breast feeding:

• Colostrum discarding
• Starting of breast feeding on 1st day
• Privacy during breast feeding

Personal hygiene:

• Head both on 11th day
• Hot water bath

Rest:

• Antenatally
• Postnatally

CUSTOMS 
 

• Harmful to child (90% of rural mothers)
• indigestion to child (10%)
• indigestion to child (70% of rural mothers)
• Privacy to mother (75%)
• Infection to child (10%)
• Dhisty (Jealous & harmful looks of neighbors) to child (15%)

• As vaginal discharge stops(57%)
• To ease the body pains (34%)
• Elder’s advice (9%)

• To get rid of weakness (47%)
• Elder’s advice (33%)

REASONS

Health role of the customs  

• This is difficult to define .
• Most of the general customs appear to be traditional in nature, intermingled with the culture and carried out as conventions as per the advice of the elders. .
• Seemantham appears to be having  positive  psychological health influence as it causes proud ness and self confidence  in women because  motherhood gives perfection woman hood in Indian culture.

Health role 

• Going to parent’s home ,during the first pregnancy , gives the woman the opportunity  to be away from her husband and sex, and to have rest, to learn mother craft and of  getting accustomed to the place of delivery.

Health role 

• Traveling after completion of 7^th month of amenorrhea can be approved as healthy as risk for abortion lessens.

Health role. 

• Eclipse fear    and papaya  as the causes of fetal damage  are so deep rooted even the educated women will not take risk.
• These are so strong , there is no scope for even studying the association.

Health role 

• Colostrum discarding,
• taking less food antenatally,
• Taking harmful  alcohol and Kayam etc,
•   avoiding  nutritious dals , leafy vegetables, fish in food , and water antenatally

  ---are all unhealthy customs 

Nutritional education 

• Nutritive values of the various foods to be explained to the women, elders, dais to eliminate unnecessary restrictions.
• They must think that pregnancy is physiological and there is no need for unnecessary restrictions of food

Dais’ training  

• The rural women are practicing these customs on the advice of either their elders or the old traditional dais who conduct deliveries in the villages. .
• Hence it is important  first to change the attitude of these elders and dais regarding the customs by giving them proper training.

conclusions 

• As most of the customs are traditionally based, culture oriented and sensitive , a careful approach of health education of  all reproductive women  is  to be planned for without hurting their cultural feelings.