*Anemia, Hemolytic ; *Anemia, Hypochromic ; *Anemia, Macrocytic ; *Ethnology ; *Iron ; *Leukemia ; *Malaysia ; *Postpartum Period ; *Infant, Newborn

OBJECTIVETo analyze the status of maternal health behaviors and it's risk factors for Yi-nationality women in poor rural areas of Sichuan province.

METHODSIn 2012, multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 14 villages of two poor counties in Liangshan Yi-nationality autonomous prefecture Sichuan province. At least 10 women who have infants aged 0-12 months were selected in each simple villages, a total of 284. The structured questionnaire was developed on the basis of the theory of reasoned action. Yi-nationality female college students were trained as investigators. Research indicators included prenatal care rate, hospital delivery rate, postpartum examination rate, socio-demographic characteristics, maternal health care knowledge. χ² test was used to compare the differences of above indicators among different groups. The structural equation model were used to statistical analyze.

RESULTSIn the 284 subject women, 51.7% (147/284) women owned more than 2 children, 41.6% (118/284) women were more than 30 years old, 87.3% (248/284) women were illiteracy. The prenatal care rate was 69.7% (197/284), the hospital delivery rate was 26.8% (76/284), and the postnatal check rate was 22.9% (65/284). The influence factors of maternal health behaviors included the number of children, age and education (χ² were 10.92, 13.24, 9.58; P values were 0.027, 0.004, 0.008, respectively).The structural equation model analysis results showed that the maternal health behaviors were directly or indirectly affected by subjective norms (β = 0.236, P < 0.001), women's cognition (β = 0.226, P = 0.020) and women's attitudes on maternal health behavior (β = 0.157, P = 0.001). Among subjective norms, women have high compliance to their husbands (β = 0.850, P < 0.001), their peers (β = 0.708, P < 0.001), and their mothers-in-law (β = 0.636, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONThere were still serious problems in maternal health behaviors for Yi-nationality women in poor rural areas. The main factors included not only the women's cognition and attitudes for maternal health, but also the attitudes of important social relationships.

Child ; China ; Ethnic Groups ; Family ; Female ; Health Behavior ; ethnology ; Humans ; Infant ; Maternal Health ; ethnology ; Maternal Health Services ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Care ; Risk Factors ; Rural Population

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore how traditional ritual practices are incorporated into the context of contemporary healthcare. METHODS: An ethnographic study was conducted, using observations and interviews with 27 first-time mothers and 3 nurses at a postpartum nursing center in Taipei, Taiwan. RESULTS: Nursing routines, policies and care provision at the center affected the way traditional ritual practices were conducted. New mothers in this study constructed their everyday activities at the center by incorporating and modifying the ritual practices inside and outside the postpartum nursing center setting. CONCLUSIONS: Social changes have an influence on traditional postpartum ritual practices so a postpartum nursing center becomes a choice for postpartum women. Thus, health care professionals should value their own functions and roles at the postpartum nursing center since the new mothers regard them as the primary support resource to help them recover from giving birth. Therefore, they need to re-examine their practices from the postpartum women's perspective to provide better support and sensitive care to postpartum women and their families.
Adult ; Ambulatory Care Facilities/trends ; Attitude of Health Personnel ; Education, Nonprofessional ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/trends ; Mothers/education/psychology ; Nurse's Role ; Nursing Process ; Obstetric Nursing/*trends ; Postnatal Care/*trends ; Postpartum Period/*ethnology ; Taiwan/ethnology