Changes in Postnatal Care Practices of Newborn and Mother Over a Period of Three Decades

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to find out what changes have occurred in postnatal care today compared to earlier times. This study was qualitative in nature. Expert sampling and purposeful sampling were used to gather data from the participants. A total of 33 participants were included in the study, from which 15 women were those who gave birth to their child during the lockdown, 15 were those who gave birth to children about 25 to 30 years ago from the same family. 3 Healthcare professionals namely a midwife , pediatrician and nurse from a reputed government hospital. The tools used were conducted by interview-administered questionnaires for women and interviews for health professionals. The results indicated that today’s postnatal practices have evolved a lot as compared to earlier times. Majority of women’s education, dietary choices, the gestational age of mothers has increased, awareness about vaccination has been found to be better in mothers of today’s times where medicines are preferred over traditional practices. Some parts of hygiene and mother-infant care were completely flawed and had no particular reason to which they could be continued in present times, hence there needs to be awareness and not follow the same. Awareness in those dimensions is critical for proper recovery of the mother and the child and to reduce mortality if any.