Introduction :

Over 130 million babies are born every year, more than 10 million children die beIore their IiIth
birth day , almost 8 million are not able to celebrate even their Iirst birth day, National health
policy 1983 envisioned signiIicant reduction in InIant Mortality Rate ,Neonatal Mortality Rate
and Child Mortality Rate by 2010, All the child health programs are directed towards achieving
these goals. The major strategy oI the Maternal and Child Health services will be:
O ssential new born care (home Iacility based )
O $tandard case management oI diarrhea and pneumonia
O Timely initiation oI breast Ieeding ,exclusive breast Ieeding Ior six months and continued breast
Ieeding Ior six months with appropriate complementary Ieeding Irom the seventh month
onwards and increased usage oI OR$ and strengthened immunization

Back ground of the study:
India is signatory to the Millennium Developmental Goals(MDGs) .The Fourth
Millennium Developmental Goal is reduction oI child mortality and the target Ior this is to
reduce by two thirds, between 1990-2015 the mortality rate oI children under Iive .This is
reIlected in the eleventh Iive year plan (2007-12), which states that InIant Mortality Rate is to be
reduced 28/1000 live births by 2012. But healthy survival oI children is threatened in every
moment. xpert and empathetic approach is essential to minimize the world wide problems and
to reduce or prevent the mortality ,morbidity and disabilities oI children.
Mother and child health (MCH) is surrounded by a wide range oI customs and belieIs all
over the world. Culture plays an important role in human societies. very culture has its own
customs which may have signiIicant inIluence on health. It is now Iairly established that the
cultural Iactors are deeply involved in the whole way oI liIe, like in the matters oI care oI girl
child, nutrition, education, immunization, personal hygiene, Iamily planning, child rearing,
seeking early medical care, disposal oI solid wastes and human excreta etc
2
. All cultural
practices are not harmIul. The inclination to get into the habits oI smoking, alcoholism, drug
addiction in the name oI civilization among the younger generation needs to be countered at the
earliest , otherwise, it may have a huge deleterious impact on the health status oI the generation
to come. We have to identiIy the cultural Iactors that are deleterious and discourage these
practices through intensive health education. The primary health care provider and school
teachers can a play a vital role in creating the awareness on the adverse eIIects oI deleterious
cultural practices among the general population and students.
The various customs in the Iield oI MCH have been classiIied as Iavourable, un Iavourable,
un important and uncertain, Iollowing are some oI the belieI related to components oI Mother
and Child Health Care.
Priority to male child rather than girl child including education, nutrition & provision oI
health care, the belieI is that ,they will be bread earner oI the Iamily, so they have to be take
care well e.g. Men eat Iirst and women eat last and poorly, in many rural Iamilies. This leads to
maternal malnutrition, leading to high maternal and inIant mortality rates
3
.
O The avoidance oI Ioods such as papaya, pineapple, milk, Iish, meat, egg and leaIy
vegetables among pregnant women in some parts oI the country, more so in Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, with the misconception that they may induce heat in the
body, which may have an adverse inIluence on the Ietus are amongst the bad customs.
O The child is not put into breast Ieeding in the Iirst three days aIter birth in some rural
parts oI the country (Gwalior region oI Madhya Pradesh) Traditionally breastIeeding is
initiated aIter the mother has a head bath on the third day (it is a common belieI that milk
'descends' aIter the head bath). Head baths are given regularly to mother and child until
Day 40, The misconception is that colostrums is harmIul. $o the child is put on water.
This may prevent the transIer oI maternal antibodies and thereby increase the risk Ior
many opportunistic inIections in the inIant.
O Home delivery takes place in a dark room, child is exposed in cold till delivery oI
placenta , mother and child are then conIined to it till 40 days.
O The deliveries conducted by untrained dais, who have very minimal knowledge on a
sepsis, sterilization and resuscitation. Practices like slapping the back squeezing the rib
cage, Iorcing thighs on abdomen, Pinching oI ear and nose, Dilate anal sphincter Hot or
cold compresses Ior whom the villagers trust more than the trained health care workers in
many rural areas oI the country may increase the incidence oI maternal and inIant
mortality.
O $ponge bath or body bath given Ior inIant immediately aIter birth.
O Pre-lacteal Ieeds are given to the baby including honey, castor oil, sugar water and
diluted cow's milk, avoidance oI colostrums.
O &mbilical cord is cut aIter placenta is delivered, Mother and child are kept warm,
although child may be leIt exposed until placenta is delivered. Access to mother and child
is limited to care givers and immediate Iamily.
O Prolonged breast Ieeding, oil bath, massage and exposure to sun are among the good
customs.
O Application oI oil or turmeric on the anterior Iontanel oI the Ietus and application oI cow
dung on the umbilical cord , branding and the application oI kajal or black soot mixed
with oil to the eyelids partly Ior beautiIication and partly Ior warding oII oI the evil eye
are some are un Iavorable practices.
O Adulteration oI milk, delay in the start oI weaning Ioods are other misconceptions related
to child rearing that may result in protein energy malnutrition and adversely aIIect the
child`s health and oral health. There are some belieIs that diarrhea among children is
common during teething and does not need to be taken care
O Believe that diarrhea will take oII the heat Irom the body and hence the child should not
be Ied milk and other liquids. This result in dehydration
4
.

It is estimated that 70 oI deaths could be avoided by educating the community by avoidance oI
un Iavorable practices, and motivate continue Iavorable practices

Statement of the problem:
A study to assess the BelieI and practices among maternal and child health care in selected rural
areas oI $outh India

Purpose : The data help to orient the existing belieI and practices and plan and deliver a
appropriate culturally competent care to mother and children.

Objectives of the study
To identiIy cultural belieI and practices on maternal and child health care

O ssumptions: We assume that, cultural belieI and practices among maternal and child health
care is existing in the $outh India

O efinition of terms :
Cultural Belief : In this study it reIers to the persons Iollow certain health practices during
pregnancy, delivery post natal periods in relation to prevent diseases and promote health oI the
mother and child.

Maternal and child health Care : In this study Maternal and Child Health care, reIers to the
care to prevent the disease and promotion oI health care oI the girl child beIore pregnancy Irom
child hood, during pregnancy, delivery, post natal period Ior mother and children

Hypothesis:-
H2:-There will be a signiIicant diIIerence between cultural belieI and practices oI diIIerent
regions oI $outh India
On selected variables such as gender preIerence ,nutrition and preventive measures
Research methodology:-
Research method:-$urvey approach is designed to determine the cultural belieI and practices on
maternal and child health care
Research design:- A descriptive cross sectional survey design is used Ior the study




Research design
Research setting:- $elected rural areas oI $outh India.
Population:- 20-60 years population in a selected villages oI &dupi district
Sample size:-will be estimated aIter pilot study
Sampling technique:-convenient sampling
evelopment of the study instrument:-
Tool 1:-demographic pro forma.
Tool : Assessment of cultural belief practices on maternal cbild bealtb care
( semi-structured interview schedule )
Content validity:- The tool will be given to 5 experts in the Iield oI Maternity nursing , child
health (N) and Paeditric Medicine
Reliability:-The tool will be administered to 10 individuals to check the reliability oI the tool.
Pilot study:- The pilot study will be done among 10 individuals in the selected rural areas oI
Karnataka and Kerala
Plan for data collection: Prior to data collection, administrative permission will be taken Irom
Dean, MCON, MANIPAL. The data will be collected in 4
th
week oI $eptember.
Plan for data analysis:- Data will be analyzed using descriptive analysis.. The analysis oI the
data is done based on the objectives oI the study and hypothesis


Research
approach
Research
design
Tools populati
on
Sample and
sampling
variables settings ata analysis
$urvey
approach
descriptive
cross
sectional
study
Tool 1:-
demographic
proforma.
1oo| 2
Assessment of
cu|tura| be||ef
pract|ces on
materna| ch||d
hea|th care(
semi-structured
interview
schedule )

20-60
years old
adults
$ample size:-
$ampling
technique:-
convenient
sampling
-age ,
-sex,
-occupation
,area oI
residence
belieI during -
preconception
period
-delivery
period and
-postnatal
period
$elected
rural areas
oI
Karnataka
and
Kerala
Descriptive
statistics:
Frequency
percentage