Postpartum cultural practices contributing to maternal deaths in Lundazi district- Zambia

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue II, February 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

 Postpartum cultural practices contributing to maternal deaths in Lundazi district- Zambia

Jordan Tembo¹, Patricia Mambwe^2
1Kalindawalo General Hospital, Petauke, Zambia
² Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Rusangu University, Monze, Zambia

Abstract: The problem of maternal deaths affects all nations. This study explored postpartum cultural practices surrounding deaths associated with post childbirth in Lundazi district –Zambia. The study used a cross-sectional study design with a qualitative approach. The study used 30 Small Motherhood Action Group members (SMAGs) as study units. Three Focus Group Discussions were conducted during the month of May 2018. This study found that some postpartum women in Lundazi district- Zambia used dirty, contaminated cloths as sanitary pads. The study also found that women who sustained tears, bruises or lacerations during childbirth treated their childbirth wounds by padding or inserting into their birth canals, herbal medicines prepared under unhygienic conditions. The reality of the existence of unsafe postpartum cultural practices should never be ignored or minimized as this borders on complications and death of women after childbirth. Despite the existence of a vibrant modern health care system, women slide into harmful cultural practices post childbirth which endanger their health and their lives. The cultural practice of inserting traditional herbal medicines prepared under unhygienic conditions into the vagina for treatment of bruises, cuts and lacerations exposes women to large concentrations of harmful micro-organisms placing them in the red zone of developing complicated ascending infection with consequent death in case of delay to access health care services.

Key words: Postpartum, puerperal sepsis, maternal death, culture

I. INTRODUCTION

Pregnancy is an ultimate journey whose desirable destination is a healthy mother and a healthy baby. Postpartum is a critical period after childbirth. It begins immediately after delivery and continues for approximately six weeks (42days) or until the body has returned to a near pre-pregnant state (Fraser &Cooper 2009). It is a perilous phase after the delicate completion of the intrapartum. Postpartum is an arc in the history of a woman’s life which understandably demands vigilance and conscious skilled care to prevent maternal deaths. Brown (2019) observed that approximately 60% of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period. Brown (2019) provides an insightful amplification. He asserts that in fact, women are more likely to die of pregnancy-related conditions in the weeks following birth than during pregnancy or intrapartum (Brown, 2019).

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