IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i7p4189-d784889.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceptions of Pregnant Women on Traditional Health Practices in a Rural Setting in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Mvulakazi Patricia Thipanyane

    (Preventive Medicine and Health Behavior Unit, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa)

  • Sibusiso Cyprian Nomatshila

    (Preventive Medicine and Health Behavior Unit, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa)

  • Olanrewaju Oladimeji

    (Community Medicine Unit, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa)

  • Hannibal Musarurwa

    (Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa)

Abstract

Though there are prenatal and perinatal protocols across the African continent, traditional practices are commonly used. Improving maternal health requires an understanding of local cultural approaches and traditional health systems. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of pregnant mothers of various ages and gravidities towards traditional maternal health practices during pregnancy. A descriptive phenomenological study was carried out with 27 purposively selected pregnant women from the King Sabatha Dalindyebo health sub-district. Discussion from three focus groups yielded three major themes and eight sub-themes. Content analysis revealed strong opinions and support for traditional practices. Although specialist practitioners were mentioned, family members were the primary source of information on traditional perinatal health practices. African mahogany bark, herbal decoctions, and holy water were allegedly used to treat labor pains, postnatal care, and the warding off of evil spirits. During pregnancy, these were thought to be beneficial and necessary. Nonetheless, the protection of some traditional practices’ know-how prevents integration of the traditional health system into the national health system. Consequently, there is a need for dialogue to facilitate the exchange of ideas on maternal health between the two health systems in order to facilitate more efficient policy formulation and implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Mvulakazi Patricia Thipanyane & Sibusiso Cyprian Nomatshila & Olanrewaju Oladimeji & Hannibal Musarurwa, 2022. "Perceptions of Pregnant Women on Traditional Health Practices in a Rural Setting in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-14, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:4189-:d:784889
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/4189/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/4189/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bodeker, G. & Kronenberg, F., 2002. "A public health agenda for traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(10), pages 1582-1591.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mvulakazi Patricia Thipanyane & Sibusiso Cyprian Nomatshila & Hannibal Tafadzwa Musarurwa & Olanrewaju Oladimeji, 2022. "The Roles and Challenges of Traditional Health Practitioners in Maternal Health Services in Rural Communities of Mthatha, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-12, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrew McNee, 2012. "Illuminating the local: can non-formal institutions be complementary to health system development in Papua New Guinea?," Development Policy Centre Discussion Papers 1215, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    2. Woodfield, Paul J. & Ooi, Yat Ming & Husted, Kenneth, 2023. "Commercialisation patterns of scientific knowledge in traditional low- and medium-tech industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    3. Jang, Sou Hyun, 2016. "First-generation Korean immigrants’ barriers to healthcare and their coping strategies in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 93-100.
    4. Sebastian Calónico & Rafael Di Tella & Juan Cruz Lopez del Valle, 2023. "The Political Economy of a “Miracle Cure”: The Case of Nebulized Ibuprofen and its Diffusion in Argentina," NBER Working Papers 31781, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Md Shahjalal & Samar Kishor Chakma & Tanvir Ahmed & Irin Yasmin & Rashidul Alam Mahumud & Ahmed Hossain, 2022. "Prevalence and determinants of using complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of chronic illnesses: A multicenter study in Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-13, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:4189-:d:784889. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.