TURKISH WOMEN’S WHO ARE SOCIAL MEDIA USERS VIEWS AND PRACTICES ON POSTPARTUM PLACENTA AND UMBILICAL CORD

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the knowledge and practices of Turkish women about traditional practices regarding postpartum placenta and umbilical cord. Method: This descriptive study was conducted with a total of 1,569 women from five regions in Turkey, who were selected by stratified random sampling method, between October 2021 and June 2022. The data were collected using a Google survey. Results: Although the most common practice of the participants was to bury the placenta and umbilical cord, the number of people who wanted to do lotus birth and art with placenta and umbilical cord in the future was also quite high. There were also regional differences between practices (p<0.001). Conclusion: It is recommended that health professionals conduct research and inform about issues such as lotus birth, placenta and umbilical cord art, and placentophagy.

Keywords

• Placenta
• Traditional practices
• Umbilical cord
• Women

Sosyal Medya Kullanıcısı Türk Kadınlarının Doğum Sonrası Plasenta ve Göbek Kordonu Hakkındaki Görüş ve Uygulamaları

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışma, Türk kadınlarının doğum sonrası plasenta ve göbek kordonu ile ilgili geleneksel uygulamalar hakkındaki bilgi ve uygulamalarını belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Bu tanımlayıcı çalışma, Türkiye'nin beş bölgesinden tabakalı rastgele örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilen toplam 1.569 kadın ile Ekim 2021 ve Haziran 2022 tarihleri arasında yürütülmüştür. Veriler bir Google anketi kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Katılımcıların en yaygın uygulaması doğum sonu dönemde plasenta ve göbek kordonunu gömmek olsa da ileride lotus doğum ve plasenta ve göbek kordonu ile sanat yapmak isteyenlerin sayısı da oldukça fazlaydı. Uygulamalar arasında bölgesel farklılıklar da vardı (p<0.001). Sonuç: Sağlık profesyonellerinin lotus doğum, plasenta ve göbek kordonu sanatı, plasentafaji gibi uygulamaların yarar ve zararları hakkında bilgilenmeleri önerilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Plasenta
• Geleneksel Uygulamalar
• Göbek kordonu
• Kadınlar

References

1. Adatara, P., Strumpher, J., Ricks, E., & Mwini-Nyaledzigbor, P. P. (2019). Cultural beliefs and practices of women influencing home births in rural Northern Ghana. International Journal of Women’s Health, 11, 353–361. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S190402
2. Avcin, E., & Can, Ş. (2021). Conventional beliefs and practices of primiparous and multiparous mothers regarding neonatal care. Journal of Traditional Medical Complementary Therapies, 4(3), 358–368. https://doi.org/10.5336/jtracom.2021-84359
3. Aziato, L., & Omenyo, C. N. (2018). Initiation of traditional birth attendants and their traditional and spiritual practices during pregnancy and childbirth in Ghana. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 18(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-018-1691-7
4. Ball, H. L. (2019). Conducting online surveys. Journal of Human Lactation, 35(3), 413–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334419848734
5. Baysal, N. (2020). Water in turkish birth tradition with a central overview of the belief system. International Journal of Turkish Literature, Culture and Education, 9(3), 1106–1124.
6. Benyshek, D. C., Cheyney, M., Brown, J., & Bovbjerg, M. L. (2018). Placentophagy among women planning community births in the United States: Frequency, rationale, and associated neonatal outcomes. Birth, 45(4), 459–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12354
7. Bosco, C. B., & Díaz, E. G. (2018). Placentophagy : a controversial trend. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 6(6), 1841–1846.
8. Cakirer Calbayram, N., Gonenc, I. M., & Topuz, N. (2019). Traditional beliefs and practices of women from preconceptional period to postpartum period. The Journal of Health Sciences and Professions, 6(2), 237–246. https://doi.org/10.17681/hsp.431298

9. Canbay, F. Ç., Şeker, S., & Çitil, E. T. (2019). Doğum sonrası anne ve bebekbakımına ilişkin kültürel yaklaşımların etkisi. In İ. Çaltekin & M. Çaltekin (Eds.), Sağlık Bilimleri Alanında Araştırma Makaleleri (pp. 36–51). Gece Kitaplığı Yayınevi.
10. Cooper, B. M. (2019). Traveling companions: The burial of the placenta in Niger. African Studies Review, 62(2), 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2018.17 Digital 2021. (2021). We are Social Hootsuite Reports.
11. Dol, J., Richardson, B., Aston, M., McMillan, D., Tomblin Murphy, G., & Campbell-Yeo, M. (2022). Health information seeking in the postpartum period: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 28(2), 118–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnn.2021.08.008
12. Dönmez, F. R. (2020). Orta Toroslarda yaşayan Sarı keçili Yörükleri (gelenek, görenek ve inanışları). Uluslararası Halkbilimi Araştırmaları Dergisi, 5, 307–310.
13. Ergün, S., Kaynak, S., Karadaş, A., & Çevik, C. (2019). An Examination of the preferences towards traditional practices in the postnatal period among the women residing in the service area of a family health centre. Journal of Continuing Medical Education, 28(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.17942/sted.411964
14. Gönenç, İ. M., Aker, M. N., & Ay, E. (2019). Qualitative study on the experience of lotus birth. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 48(6), 645–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.08.005
15. Guerra-Reyes, L., Christie, V. M., Prabhakar, A., Harris, A. L., & Siek, K. A. (2016). Postpartum health information seeking using mobile phones: Experiences of low-income mothers. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20(S1), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2185-8
16. Hayes, E. H. (2019). Placentophagy, lotus birth, and other placenta practices: what does the evidence tell us? Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing, 33(2), 99–102. https://doi.org/10.1097/JPN.0000000000000402
17. International Confederation of Midwives. (2020). International Code of Ethics for Midwives. Due for next Review, 1–3.
18. Kamaruddin, N. K., Ramli, M. A., & Abdul Wahab, R. (2018). Polemik amalan lotus birth dari perspektif hukum Islam. Jurnal Fiqh, 15(1), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.22452/fiqh.vol15no1.1
19. Kroløkke, C., Dickinson, E., & Foss, K. A. (2018). The placenta economy: From trashed to treasured bio-products. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 25(2), 138–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506816679004
20. Mbwambo, E., & Gibore, N. (2024). Assessment of factors associated with reproductive health seeking behaviours among adolescent mothers in Dodoma region. MedRxiv, 05, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.10.24307202
21. Mota-Rojas, D., Orihuela, A., Strappini, A., Villanueva-García, D., Napolitano, F., Mora-Medina, P., Barrios-García, H. B., Herrera, Y., Lavalle, E., & Martínez-Burnes, J. (2020). Consumption of maternal placenta in humans and nonhuman mammals: Beneficial and adverse effects. Animals, 10(12), 2398. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122398
22. Nayak, M. S. D. P., & Narayan, K. A. (2019). Strengths and weaknesses of online surveys. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (IOSR-JHSS), 24(5), 31–38. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-2405053138
23. Oe, F., Oa, A., Ri, F., & Ag, A. (2021). Postpartum placental rituals: Perceptions of midwives and mothers in selected healthcare centers, southwestern Nigeria. Annals of the Romanian Society for Cell Biology, 25(4), 4681–4691.
24. Ohaja, M., & Anyim, C. (2021). Rituals and embodied cultural practices at the beginning of life: African perspectives. Religions, 12(11), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12111024
25. Özdemir, S., & Simsek, A. (2022). Practices related to placenta and umbilical cord in postpartum period. KTO Karatay University Journal of Health Sciences, 3(1), 71–80.
26. Öztürk, S., Nacar, G., & Timur, S. (2022). Sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeyi doğum sonu yapılan geleneksel uygulamaları etkiler mi? Jinekoloji-Obstetrik ve Neonatoloji Tıp Dergisi, 19(2), 1277–1282. https://doi.org/10.38136/jgon.857463
27. Patrick, I. O., & Ferdinand, O. A. (2016). Rural women and their information seeking behavior. Library Philosophy and Practice, 2016(1).
28. Sarantaki, A., Metallinou, D., Kyritsi, R., Diamanti, A., & Lykeridou, K. (2020). Perinatal cultural aspects of african refugee women resettled in greece: Providing culturally-sensitive midwifery care. Materia Socio Medica, 32(4), 294. https://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2020.32.294-298
29. Schoenwald, C. (2020). Moms are making art from their own ... Umbilical cords. Your Tango. https://www.yourtango.com/2016295493/moms-making-umbilical-cord-art-for-childbirth-keepsakes.
30. Siwila, L. C. (2015). The role of Indigenous knowledge in African women’s theology of understanding motherhood and maternal health. Alternation Special Edition, 14, 61–76.
31. TNSA. (2018). Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiye Nüfus ve Sağlık Araştırması. In Hacettepe University of Population Studies. https://hips.hacettepe.edu.tr/tr/2018_turkiye_nufus_ve_saglik_arastirmasi-55.
32. TUIK. (2020). Address Based Population Registration System Results.
33. TUIK. (2022). Household Information Technologies (IT) Usage Survey, 2022.
34. Vallely, L. M., Homiehombo, P., Kelly-Hanku, A., Vallely, A., Homer, C. S. E., & Whittaker, A. (2015). Childbirth in a rural highlands community in Papua New Guinea: A descriptive study. Midwifery, 31(3), 380–387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2014.11.002
35. Whittington, J. R., Rumpel, J. A., Shnaekel, K. L., Peeples, S. E., Magann, E. F., & Burke, B. L. (2020). Alternative birth plans and unintended maternal and neonatal consequences: A review of the literature. Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, 75(12), 766–778. https://doi.org/10.1097/OGX.0000000000000849
36. Withers, M., Kharazmi, N., & Lim, E. (2018). Traditional beliefs and practices in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum: A review of the evidence from Asian countries. Midwifery, 56, 158–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2017.10.019
37. Yeşilçınar, İ., Şahin, E., & Mercan, D. (2021). Postpartum dönemdeki kadınların sağlık okuryazarlığı ile geleneksel uygulamalara başvurmaları arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi. Turkish Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 15(3), 594–601. https://doi.org/10.21763/tjfmpc.865926
38. Zinsser, L. A. (2018). Lotus birth, a holistic approach on physiological cord clamping. Women and Birth, 31(2), e73–e76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2017.08.127