Local Wisdom in Maternal and Child Healthcare among Ethnic Groups in Nakhon Phanom Province
Abstract
The qualitative research aimed to study the experiences of midwives in applying local wisdom on maternal and child healthcare of the ethnic groups in Nakhon Phanom Province. The key informants were 15 midwives. The research instrument was the semi–structured interview form covering the issues of knowledge inheritance, goals of care, fundamental factors determining the care practice and care models from the antenatal to the postpartum period. The quality of the instrument was checked by three experts in research development and maternal and child nursing. The index of item objective congruence (IOC) was 1.00. Data were collected from October, 2019 to January, 2020. The personal information was analyzed by frequency. The qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis based on the Colaizzi’s seven–step method.
The findings were summarized into four main points. 1) The knowledge was inherited from ancestors and the direct experience of midwives. There were no textbooks. 2) The goals of care focused on maternal and child safety, prevention of child disability and mortality. 3) The beliefs were the important fundamental factors in formulating health care guidelines. They included the morale is the heart of life, food is essential to health, a sacred spell protect people from evil, lying on the fire give a good healthy and the placenta represents the relationship between siblings of the same lineage. 4) The health care model was holistic, covering the physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects.
The findings provide the information for health organizations to apply to postpartum woman together with the postnatal care guidance for safely lying by the fire after childbirth and proper food. In addition, the educational institutes should integrate these findings to the lesson. and advice on postnatal practice based on the local wisdom.
Keywords: Local wisdom, Maternal and child healthcare, Ethnic groups
