SAFFRON FOR A FAIR BABY TRADITIONAL CHILDBEARING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES AMONG WOMEN IN TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

Abstract: In spite of the modernization of obstetrics in Tamil Nadu, the rural women still adhere to several traditional beliefs and practices, in regard to childbearing and postpartum. The varieties of non-biomedical practices were used in attempt to ensure a risk-free delivery and the birth of a healthy baby, although the collected data shows that some of them are harmful. To understand why the rural women hold on to these traditions, and possible implications, a qualitative grounded theory approach was used; and a constructed grounded theory termed ‘Motherhood during a transitional period’ was generated. The practical aim was to give health professionals an understanding of the rural women´s worldview for creating effective culturally sensitive approaches, such as ethno-nursing methods, so the rural women´s cultural needs are taken into consideration and harmful practices are avoided. Thirty-seven individual and four focus group interviews, in six rural villages and two small towns in rural areas of Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, Southern India, were carried out. This study showed that rural women are straddling between two systems of divergent meaning in regard to their bodies in general, but also their conceptualizations and experiences of childbearing and birth. Traditions and cultures are inter-linked and therefore it takes time to modernize a society.