HISPANIC
The hispanic population on the
Prenatal
The pregnant mother will be encouraged to rest frequently, walk, eat
well and get plenty of sleep. Familialism,
plays a major role in the support of the pregnant women and discourages
heavy work or harmful activities such smoking ,
drinking, or drug use. Women who are attentive mothers are highly
respected. If finances permit, women with strong traditional
beliefs readily
relinquish jobs to ensure a healthy birth outcome. Latinas generally seek prenatal care at much
later stages of pregnancy. This tendency may be partially explained by the perception of
pregnancy as a normal phenomenon rather than a condition necessitating medical treatment. Latinas are modest about their bodies, they
prefer a female health care provider for prenatal exams.
Folk beliefs
Latinas believe that unsatisfied pregnancy
cravings cause birth marks; milk is avoided because it causes large
babies and difficult births; drinking chamomile tea is thought to
assure effective labor; exposure of pregnant women to an eclipse will
cause their infants to have a cleft lip or palate. Some women
wear a
red string around their abdomen to prevent a cleft lip or palate.
They also believe that an infant
may have characteristics of an object that the mother craves during
pregnancy if the craving is not satisfied.
Labor and Delivery
It is common for grandmother to move into the expecting family's
home
during last weeks of pregnancy and weeks following delivery.
Walking is recommended to ensure quick birth. One folk belief is that
inactivity will result in loss
of amniotic fluid, causing fetus to stick ( se
pega) to the uterus. Fear of
unnecessary
or dangerous medical interventions, separation from family members, and
loss of physical privacy leads many women to labor at home for much of
their labor. Supportive female family members are present to
help. They go to the hospital when labor is well advanced.
Traditionally,
men are not present at delivery. Normal spontaneous vaginal delivery is
preferred.
Mexican American women fear cesarean births.
Postpartum
Latina's traditionally have a forty day
period of recuperation called "La Cuarentena".
During this
period family members also prepare "purgantes"
(home
remedies) for the mother that are said to help her body to eliminate
impurities
from the birth. Postpartum depression will not occur if these purgantes are taken. Women are cared for
by
other women, but are expected to care for their newborn child on their
own.
New mother's are discouraged from taking
showers
for several days, and also discouraged from getting out of bed for the
first
few hours after birth. Light foods are provided, including "caldo de pollo" (chicken bouillon),
herbal
teas, and tortillas, beans are avoided. Formula promotion in
Beliefs vary from family to family and we've
tried to encompass as many beliefs as possible.
