CULTURAL EVALUATION OF A MOTHER'S CARE FOR HER BABY IN THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD ACCORDING TO MADELEINE LEININGER

Abstract

The purpose of the qualitative study is to highlight the results of culturally adequate nursing care by evaluating the care provided by women to their babies in the postpartum period using Leininger's Sunrise Model. Three basic approaches within Leininger's Sunrise Model were used in the care process: preserving cultural care, agreeing on cultural care, and restructuring cultural care. The case study involved a 22-year-old Syrian woman who could speak and understand Turkish, gravida 3, who was followed up in the obstetrics ward with a cesarean section wound infection. The nurse providing care to the woman in the postpartum period conducted her initial assessment and, in line with the first mode of the model, allowed the woman to perform practices related to her culture without judgment, including swaddling, applying kohl to the eyes, and tying a string around the wrist. According to the second mode, the woman was asked why she performed these practices. The nurse discussed the potential harm these practices could cause to the baby. In accordance with the third mode, the practices performed by the woman for the baby, based on cultural foundations, were organized without judging the woman or her traditions. Model-based postpartum care ensured that practices specific to the woman's culture were restructured in line with safe care principles; it strengthened the interaction between the mother and nurse during the care process, contributed to the mother finding the recommended care practices acceptable, and enabled the prevention of practices that could negatively affect the baby's health. These findings demonstrate that culturally competent nursing care supports the provision of safe and effective care during the postpartum period.