Faulty traditional practices in infant care / Prácticas tradicionales defectuosas en el cuidado infantil

Proper advice regarding home-based care of normal infants is no less important than managing critical diseases. Otherwise parents tend to follow traditional practices running in the family which are often deleterious. Clinicians must also be aware of the faulty traditional practices so that they can actively enquire them in the child's history.The author enlisted various such faulty traditional practices as experienced by him during his OPD practice in various public and corporate hospitals over a period of five years. Topics relating mainly to the infant age group have been chosen for this article. Relevant search was done on these topics in standard paediatric textbooks, journals, and websites (like WHO, NICE, AAP) to find the validity of these practices as well as the standard recommendations on these topics.It was found that the standard recommendations often differ from the traditional practices. Detailed text was included from various authentic sources regarding few dubious topics related to home-based infant care.Clinicians should be aware of the correct recommended methods regarding the day to day home-based infant care. They should counsel the parents accordingly so as to avoid any harm caused by faulty traditional practices and social beliefs.

El asesoramiento adecuado sobre la atención domiciliaria de los bebés normales no es menos importante que el manejo de enfermedades críticas. De lo contrario, los padres tienden a seguir las prácticas tradicionales de la familia que a menudo son perjudiciales. Los médicos también deben ser conscientes de las prácticas tradicionales defectuosas para poder investigarlas activamente en la historia del niño.El autor reclutó varias prácticas tradicionales defectuosas que experimentó durante su práctica en OPD en varios hospitales públicos y corporativos durante un período de cinco años. Para este artículo se han elegido temas relacionados principalmente con el grupo de edad infantil. Se realizaron búsquedas relevantes sobre estos temas en libros de texto, revistas y sitios web estándar de pediatría (como OMS, NICE, AAP) para encontrar la validez de estas prácticas, así como las recomendaciones estándar sobre estos temas.Se encontró que las recomendaciones estándar a menudo difieren de las prácticas tradicionales. Se incluyó texto detallado de varias fuentes auténticas con respecto a algunos temas dudosos relacionados con el cuidado infantil en el hogar.Los médicos deben conocer los métodos correctos recomendados con respecto al cuidado infantil diario en el hogar. Deben asesorar a los padres en consecuencia para evitar cualquier daño causado por prácticas tradicionales y creencias sociales defectuosas.

A study on traditional practice of head-shaving in newborn care among mothers in a tertiary care centre in Malda, West Bengal, India

Background: Newborn period is culturally and traditionally sensitive in every society. Different communities have different traditional practices when it comes to taking care of newborn. Head-shaving in newborn period is one such unique traditional practice existent among rural population of West Bengal. This study was conducted to explore the traditional practice of head-shaving and to highlight its related morbidities among newborns following head-shaving.Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted at triage of special newborn care unit of Malda Medical College and Hospital among 650 mothers who presented to us with their sick newborns following head-shaving. After obtaining informed consent, mothers were interviewed. The data were collected using pre-designed questionnaires. Statistical analyses of the data were done using SPSS version 21.Results: In the present study, majority (52.62%) of the mothers were within the age group of 18-21 years and 94.15% belonged to Muslim community. Neonatal head-shaving was usually done on 4th day of life (48.15%) and on 10th day of life (28.77%). Baby bath following head-shaving was given in 49.54% newborns using pond water and 77.70 % mothers used crude mustard oil for massaging following baby bath. Following head-shaving, 37.69% of newborns presented with poor feeding, 33.23% with abdominal distension and 61.23% presented with respiratory distress.Conclusions: Findings of present study highlights the harmful aspects of traditional practice of head-shaving among newborns in rural Bengal. This practice can be avoided by proper health education and counselling of the mothers and her associates involved in newborn care.