Intergenerational transmission of traditional practices at newborn care: An explorative study NEWBORN CARE

The study was conducted to reveal the cultural practices used in neonatal care as well as revealing the intergenerational transmission of these practices. This comparative and descriptive study was conducted between December 2015 and June 2016. The study sample consisted of 210 mothers, including 130 grandmothers and 80 mothers. Data was collected by the researchers with the face-to-face interviews with the mothers and analyzed by percentile and frequency. It was observed that 77.0% of the grandmothers cover the baby's face with yellow cloth for treating jaundice, 86.2% of them use olive oil for the infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis, 57.8% use breast's milk for thrush, 50.8% use powder to treat diaper rash, and 36.5% use fine-textured soil (höllük) for the treatment of diaper rash. 70.4% of the mothers were covering the baby's face with yellow cloth for treating jaundice, 77.8% were using olive oil for the dandruff (infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis) treatment, 37.8% were using breast's milk for thrush, and 57.7% were using medical cream for the treatment of diaper rash. According to the results of the study, even though the use of non-rational cultural health practices in neonatal care decreases, it is observed that their importance still remains.