Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
REFERENCE ON PATIENT BEHAVIOUR
Section 1: Cultural Norms and Conventions
Sex and Reproduction, Pregnancy, Care for Children and Health Seeking Behaviours
The following socio – cultural norms and conventions relating to reproductive health, pregnancy and post natal care, inform and influence
patient behaviour affecting access to use and uptake of clinic based primary health services.
The tables below: 1] state the topic; 2] make a summative statement on the common practice and then 3] detail the actions, knowledge ,
beliefs and attitudes that inform patient behaviour.
Reference Tables:
Traditional healers /
treatment







Traditional healers and traditional medicines/treatments are used for MCH . Women tend to receive information and
services from both traditional and modern medicine provided by traditional healers , clinic and private doctors.
It was reported in OR Tambo that the use of traditional medication by pregnant women is causing illnesses such as elevated blood pressure,
hypertension, and oedema (BlackSash).
Women will use traditional meds and herb during their pregnancy despite knowing that these can be dangerous (FAMSA)
Last month of pregnancy some pregnant women use rituals/herbal medications with the belief that they are or be bewitched. They do so to protect
their newborns. Some of them want to bring their traditional medication to the MWH (Northwest).
While there is concern about THs referring, THs are concerned with the issues of counter-referral, particularly of ToP clients from the health
facilities to traditional healers for ritual cleansing (IPAS evaluation).
The concern for many rural people (especially the older generation) with traditional meds is not their safety, but that they are being mixed with
modern meds (wives in EC)
One of the problems with increased education is that many women have taken onboard the lesson that one should not take these medicines if one
is HIV+. Now, women fear the stigma of being seen as HIV+ if they don’t take them.
Teens seek services from traditional healers who were easily accessible in their communities, are open until late and do not ask questions or
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Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
conduct any tests (e.g., HIV, like the clinics) (Mindset, Gert Sibande).
o Stories were told of pregnant teenagers consulting traditional healers requesting specific medication and because traditional healer did not
do any tests, they gave the teenagers the medication not knowing that they were assisting the pregnant teenagers to commit abortions
(Mindset, Gert Sibande).
Depression
Both men and women experience depression as a response to a range of sexual practices.
 For women (aged 15-26), having depressive symptoms is associated with having experienced one or more incidents of physical or sexual IPV and
dating a partner three or more years older, as well as a greater likelihood over the following 12 months of having transactional sex and experiencing
further IPV (Nduna 2010).
 For men (also aged 15-26), depressive symptoms are associated with having had transactional sex, not using a condom or doing so incorrectly at last
intercourse, and having raped a stranger or acquaintance; there was some evidence suggesting that they were also associated with having
perpetrated more than one episode of physical or sexual IPV. Men who reported baseline depressive symptoms were at greater likelihood of not
using a condom or doing so incorrectly at last intercourse 12 months later (Nduna 2010).
Violence is a social norm that has implications for women’s voice and self advocacy in respect to reproduction and pregnancy.
.
Between July and September 2013 a total of 325 rapes were recorded in the uMgungundlovu district, and of those 106 were rapes of girls under 12
(Black Sash).
o There are some reports that men are socialized to use violence as a corrective measure and a symbol of ‘love’ – to discipline a partner is to
show love and will result in greater love and respect. It feels so good to hit someone you love, she just loves you more (Male participant, 19 –
25, Umbumbulu) (Listening to Voices)
Families affected by GVB usually do not seek any form of assistance (including medical attention) until the last stages of the pregnancy (FAMSA).
Women in abusive relationships are seen as less able to communicate with their partners (CADRE).
Gender Based Violence



Sex workers have particular practices related to reproductive health and family planning.
Sex Workers
 The majority of the sex workers reported that they did not discuss their family planning, pregnancy and healthcare needs with anyone (Gert Sibande
FGD, Black Sash)
 They instead reported that they inserted foreign objects in their vaginas before having sex with clients to prevent pregnancy in the event that
condoms burst during sex.
 “I put it [cotton wool] in my private part so that if the condom tears his sperms are going to be stuck on this cotton wool then I pull it out and throw it in
the toilet.” Sex worker, Kinross, Govan Mbeki (Mindset)
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Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
Vulnerable Groups

Majority of OVC are cared for inter-generationally –ie. by grandmothers
In John Taolo Gaetsewe district in N. Cape, DSD estimates that grandmothers rear 60% of the OVCs (Sarraounia)
Men and sexual
There is evidence of culturally determined attitudes and behaviour for men and sexual /reproductive health.
/reproductive health
 What are boys being taught at initiation schools about men and their responsibilities towards women (from Hendrietta Bogopane Zulu, MP, Deputy
Minister, DWCPD)?
 Absence of father in boy’s SRH decisions: according to Mindset FDGs, Younger men up to age 25 years old reported that they only received support
from their mothers who gave them advice on taking care of babies and financial support when needed.
 When boys get sick because of circumcision, the male relatives consult each other and exclude the mother.
 Why are communities not enforcing anti-statutory rape laws against men who impregnate girls under 16?
 Fathers need to be more involved in PMTCT
 In FAMSA dialogues, Community Care Workers also stated that men had said to them that they were focused on finding employment and that if the
issues did not involve potential employment, they would not be present.
 When compared to teenage girls, teenage boys appeared to be more concerned about contracting sexually transmitted diseases than they were
about preventing teenage pregnancy (Mindset, GS).
 Men leave their wives/partners if they find out they have HIV, which is also linked to their scrutinizing feeding practices with infants as sign of HIV
status (Listening to voices, KZN).
 Men reluctant to accept responsibility with partner becomes pregnant, claiming she could have other partners (Listening to Voices, KZN)
Womanhood
Culture frames a particular understanding of womanhood information attitudes and behaviour to reproduction (CADRE).
 Maturity defined by life events rather than chronological age (defining women)—this is relevant to child-headed households
 Having a child and proving your fertility are important
 Hiding one’s own pain from children and others and getting over things were both mentioned as part of being dignified. Also, women look for outside
(the home) help, ostensibly not like men. Women’s groups mentioned as important levers for social change (e.g., stokvels, caregiver groups).
Sexual preference and norms include dry sex, early debut and intergenerational and transactional sex.
Sexual and reproductive
practices
General:
 Using various substances to facilitate ‘dry sex’ or as aphrodisiacs, such as ‘kuber’ or ‘snuff,’ which is not usually accompanied by the use of
contraceptives or condoms (KZN; defining women, also from CADRE)
 Beliefs about being a ‘hot’ or a ‘cold’ woman contributed to women following practices to facilitate dry sex and ‘hot’ sex – which resulted in the nonuse of contraceptives, and of condoms (defining women; KZN only??). You need more direct contact to feel the “heat.”
 From CADRE research, in KZN at least there is the perception that it is now common for younger girls (11-13) to have sex and fall pregnant. Because
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Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
of the danger posed by abortion, some parents opt to allow them to have the baby.
 Girls will pretend to be a virgin to the husband’s family, yet she and her husband know that they have been practicing sex long before
marriage (from Free State respondent).
 There are such strong pressures on women to give birth regardless of work or marital status. For married women, the pressure is such that if
they don’t fall pregnant, families will encourage men to to find other partners (Free State respondent).
Early sexual debut:
 The age they recommended for adolescent girls was 13 years because at that age some of them were already sexually active (Mindset, Gert
Sibande)
Intergenerational and transactional sex:
 Reference in KZN to “Kati and Ubisi game” which ostensibly means when older men buy younger women alcohol in exchange for sex. (
 Sugar daddies force sex if girls refuse (Listening to Voices)
Incest:
 A mother kept quiet about her daughter’s pregnancy, because she knew that the father was her husband, and knowing that the husband is the
breadwinner she did not want to risk losing him (FAMSA case story).
Health seeking behaviour /
Health seeking and presentation behaviour is informed and influenced by age status. It must be disaggregated.
presentation at facilities
Teenagers:
 The pregnant teenagers prefer to receive sexual and reproduction information from the internet because it is easily accessible (Mindset, GS).
 Women discuss their sexual and reproductive health needs and problems with older friends, mother, religious leaders and traditional and spiritual
leaders (Gert Sibande).
 Most parents are against their teenage girls being in relationships and since most teenagers live with their parents they need permission from their
parents to leave home to seek services from health facilities. This makes it difficult for the teenagers to seek sexual and reproductive services from
health facilities (Mindset, GS).
 Teenagers presentation at clinic (needing friends for support)
 There was a tendency for parents to put blame on the friends of their adolescent children when they fell pregnant (Mindset).
 Teenagers presentation at clinic (needing friends for support)
 There was a tendency for parents to put blame on the friends of their adolescent children when they fell pregnant (mindset)
Women:
 Women presenting alone without partner
 IYDSA, conflicting messages around integrated service delivery (e.g., sometimes HIV patients prefer a separate facility).
 Zithulele have found that transport delays are a major factor if women not seeking to delivery in hospital. Additionally, rural women have to save to
cover the cost of transport and if they come too hospital too soon it is a costly mistake and they may not return.
 Having a referral but being denied service because of wait list (especially around ToP)—driving girls/women to illegal providers
 Women presenting alone without partner
 IYDSA, conflicting messages around integrated service delivery (e.g., sometimes HIV patients prefer a separate facility).
 In uMgungundlovu older women reported avoiding ANC and PNC as they don’t want to be in the queues at the clinic with younger girls, as they are
reportedly being ridiculed by these young girls who are telling these women they are too old to be pregnant (Black Sash).
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Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
Section 2:
Patient Behaviour and the Continuum of Care in MCH
Patient behaviour is detailed and organised according to the five time cycle elements of the continuum of care for MCH provided by WHO ie.
1] adolescence and before pregnancy; 2] pregnancy; 3] birth , 4] postal natal and; 5] motherhood.
The tables below organise each topic and associated behaviour according to the different stages of the continuum of care.
Reference Tables:
ADOLESCENCE AND BEFORE PREGHANCY
Family planning


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Myths/perceptions around use of FP methods, mostly injectibles:
o Changes in body shape (CADRE)
o Changes in weight (CADRE)
o Changes in menstrual cycle (prolonged, irregular or absent menstruation) (CADRE)
o Contraceptives can cause permanent infertility (CADRE)
o Female contraceptives have side effects on males, e.g. hip pain (CADRE).
o IUDs can be felt by men
o Injection causes body to become like jelly, or leads to swelling from water retention (Mindset, GS).
o Use of injection will make it impossible to conceive later (Mindset, GS).
o Injection causes excess vaginal wetness leading to charges of infidelity or less pleasure.
o IUDs migrate once implanted.
o Babies will be born clutching the IUD.
o Men confirmed that women using contraceptives were unattractive describing them as having loose bodies and
popping veins (Listening to the Voices).
o Even adults have confusion and misconceptions, such as thinking that women get swollen because blood is not being
discharged through normal menstruation (Mindset).
Women who have given birth refrain from using contraceptives because they have to wait a certain period after giving birth (2-6
months) before using contraceptives (Mindset, GS).
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014











Use of condoms depends on type of male partner (e.g., boyfriend v. older partner).
Condoms not viewed as a family planning method rather as a method of preventing sexually transmitted diseases, especially
HIV. As a result, teenagers and youth are reluctant to propose the use of condoms in their relationship because their partners
would assume that they were unfaithful or were accusing them of being unfaithful (Mindset, Gert Sibande).
Parents don't talk to their kids SRH and FP (Mindset, Gert Sibande).
Perceptions of key members in the community (e.g. from church) may discourage certain behaviours such as contraception use
(Capricorn).
o Shame and silence on the part of religious institutions, who encourage becoming “born again” and abstinence but
nothing else (Mindset, Gert Sibande).
Some teenage boys who have undergone circumcision indicate that they stop using condoms during sexual intercourse
because they think that circumcision prevents sexually transmitted infection (Mindset, GS).
The majority of teenagers, both male and female, indicate that they do not speak to their partners about family planning and
healthcare. Teenage girls were of the view that they were not supposed to tell their boyfriends that they were using
contraceptives because they would not approve of it. Teenage boys on the other hand indicated that they did not trust their
girlfriends and that they would be judgmental of them and thus end their relationship when they brought up the topic (Mindset,
GS).
Women taking decisions about contraception or sterilization on their own without consulting their partners (CADRE-KZN).
Young women in “first love” make decision to fall pregnant without considering anything other than how pregnancy fulfills the
relationship (CADRE-KZN).
Rather than talk about FP, as soon as the girl begins menstruating, here parents take them to the clinic (CADRE-FS).
There is peer pressure to engage in sexual activity without any form of contraception (Mindset).
Patients on ARVs are taught to use condoms and when they become pregnant they are fearful of coming to clinic. This means
that they have not taken their treatment so mothers and babies do not have PMTCT (JTG district of NC).
PREGNANCY
Teenage
Pregnancy

Teenage parents only start discussing healthcare needs like family planning, pregnancy and baby healthcare after they have
fallen pregnant (BlackSash).
ToP


Girls terminate because of fear of being kicked out their homes by their parents (Listening to the voices).
Limited awareness of the legality of ToP by the general public precludes the kind of demand-driven support seen for other
reproductive-health services (IPAS evaluation).
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Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014

EANC
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
Peri-Natal

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



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



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
Women seek ANC late into their pregnancy, as late as in their last trimester, or they do not seek ANC at all. Women often
only seek ANC when they suspect complications (BlackSash).
Parents will keep their [pregnant] daughters at home up to seven months so they won’t contract other diseases at the clinic
(Mindset).
Some of the delayed ANC is attributed to the fact that many teenagers are hiding their pregnancies (BlackSash).
The fear of testing for HIV is one reason teenage parents give for delayed ANC. As result, they go to health facility at 8
months just to get the ANC card for them to be able to be admitted at a hospital to deliver the baby (Mindset).
Before the HIV epidemic, it was considered acceptable to come for your first visit at six months. Now, early ANC is
associated with being HIV+, so women don't want to come for fear of being labeled as positive by other community
members.
New mothers are reluctant to bring new babies to the clinic due to fear of exposing the baby to unnecessary infection
(Capricorn).
Delaying ANC and late testing of HIV is resulting in prevention of mother to child (PMTCT) regimens not being successfully
employed, the result being HIV infection of infants (Black Sash).
High use of alcohol when girls are pregnant (KZN, listening to voices), which can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome
It is okay to drink traditional beer while pregnant (FAMSA).
Girls do not know how to count the months during their pregnancy (FAMSA).
High use of alcohol when girls are pregnant (KZN, listening to voices), which can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome
It is okay to drink traditional beer while pregnant (FAMSA).
Girls do not know how to count the months during their pregnancy (FAMSA).
Moms and babies should not leave home for 3 months (Capricorn).
Babies should not be mixing with lots of people in the waiting rooms (Capricorn).
It not cultural that a neonate can be fed with another women's milk, though this happens. There is a need to explain the
pasteurisation process.
Some women believe that every newborn should be given Lemmon Drops (Northwest).
Male partners will buy formula for women as a way to show love (EC).
Poor women who can’t afford formula will put flour in water to seem that they have access to formula (EC).
Mothers don’t want their babies tested so they “lose” their road to health card and so health staff can’t see
o the baby’s history. They tell you the baby is negative, yet children are still dying of underlying causes
o related to HIV infections (Sarraounia).
Children are often left in the care of grandmothers who feed the children tea in their bottles because they have no money to buy
o Milk (JTG district of NC, Sarraounia).
Women have real concerns regarding the impact of exclusive breastfeeding on their body images and therefore may resist to
continue breastfeeding fearing that it may make their breast sag or them appear less attractive (Listening to Voices)•
POST NATAL (MOTHER AND CHILD)
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Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
Post Natal Care
Breastfeeding
OR Tambo women are arriving for PNC late since there is a cultural belief in the community that women cannot leave the house for two
weeks after delivery (BlackSash).












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Not exclusively breastfeeding for first six months
o Rural women are reluctant to discuss issues like breastfeeding with someone else unless that person is a woman who
has had a child (Zithulele Hospital, EC).
o From mindset FGDS: Some of the women reported that they introduced solids to their infants at two to three months
while others were not comfortable at all with breastfeeding their infants because they were HIV positive.
o The manner in which a mother feeds her baby is often used as a signifier of her HIV status. The high levels of stigma
within communities towards women living with HIV acts as a barrier towards safe infant feeding practices. (Listening
with Voices)
Mothers tear out pages 8-9 of the child’s road to health card (PMTCT) making it difficult to follow-up the child’s management
(JTG in NC).
Women do not like their infants to be weighed.
Moms and babies should not leave home for 3 months (Capricorn).
Babies should not be mixing with lots of people in the waiting rooms (Capricorn).
It not cultural that a neonate can be fed with another women's milk, though this happens. There is a need to explain the
pasteurisation process.
Some women believe that every newborn should be given Lemmon Drops (Northwest).
Male partners will buy formula for women as a way to show love (EC).
Poor women who can’t afford formula will put flour in water to seem that they have access to formula (EC).
Mothers don’t want their babies tested so they “lose” their road to health card and so health staff can’t see
the baby’s history. They tell you the baby is negative, yet children are still dying of underlying causes
related to HIV infections (Sarraounia).
Children are often left in the care of grandmothers who feed the children tea in their bottles because they have no money to buy
Milk (JTG district of NC, Sarraounia).
Women have real concerns regarding the impact of exclusive breastfeeding on their body images and therefore may resist to
continue breastfeeding fearing that it may make their breast sag or them appear less attractive (Listening to Voices)
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
MOTHER HOOD (INFANT AND CHILD)
Data forthcoming as it emerges from output 3 grantee activities.
Section 3:
Traditional Medicine, Treatment and other Practices related to MCH
A “traditional” system of leadership, knowledge and care for MCH exists and operates concurrently to the formal health system. Evidence
suggests that while the majority of women deliver at a clinic and receive ante natal care there, women also use traditional healers, treatments
and medicines. Furthermore it can be the case that while “traditional attitudes, beliefs and practices are widely used and familiar to the patient
and clinic staff, they are “discounted”. In other words they are overlooked, ignored or put down. To illustrate, the integration of traditional healer
into the health system for example through referrals is a weak practice. Further, it can be the case that nurses and clinic staff are familiar with
and may themselves use traditional practices yet in the professional setting this tends not to be acknowledged or appreciated.
To focus on culture and “tradition” is not to reify it. Rather the intention is to acknowledge it as culture and tradition are part of the solution as
well as part of the problem when it comes to MCH outcomes and their improvement. In other words while culture is often seen as barrier it is also
a resource. In other words some practices can and should be built upon while others need reform.
The reference tables below focus on what output 3 grantees have surfaced so far in relation to 1] traditional medicines 2] traditional practices
(general); 3] traditional practices – adolescence and before pregnancy ;4] traditional practice – pregnancy; 5] traditional practices - post natal.
1] Traditional medicines
Medicine
Ucliamemfene
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How it helps
This is given throughout
pregnancy to aid in the mother’s
Issues
The concern is with dosages
and that it should not be mixed
Where reported?
Umthatha meeting with wives
of rural leaders
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
Mbelekisane
Isicatathi
Kgaba
comfort and to help the baby to
move around. It can also be
given to a baby if he/she is not
passing urine
Given during labour to help
expedite it
Not entirely clear, but perhaps
an anti-mucus agent.
Is taken to ‘strengthen/bring on
labour pains’
Mogato
Mothers burn the herb and then
apply the ash to the chord
stump to dry the umbilicus and
hasten the chord falling off.
Isihlambezo
Assists the mother to have a
smooth and fast delivery.
Gets rid of headaches and
restores the mother’s original
complexion should it turn yellow
after birth.
Is given to the newborn; and this
medicine can also be purchased
from the pharmacy.
ToP
Ipleyiti
Umuthi wenyoni
Gobho (trad muti) or Stameta (as
sold in pharmacies),
 chrystal potassium,
permanganate,
aspirin added to
coca-cola which is
boiled muthi buried
in the yard;
 coloured string
around the waist;
10 | P a g e
with other drugs.
Umthatha meeting with wives
of rural leaders
Can result in prolonged labour
and foetal distress or can cause
ruptured uterus especially in
patients who have had previous
c sections
Causes infection but young
mothers tend to use grannies’
advice above that of the clinic
as ‘this is our tradition’ and
‘culture was here before there
was a clinic’.
JTG district NC
JTG district, NC
Gert Sibande (Black Sash)
Gert Sibande (Black Sash)
Gert Sibande (Black Sash)
KZN (Listening to Voices) and
defining women
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014


taking a shower;
cough or jump up
and down to expel
sperm.
2] Traditional Practices -- General
Practice
Definition
Ukungena
Forced marriage of a widow to a male
relative of her deceased husband's
family.
Abduction of young girls for marriage
A girl being forced to sleep with her
father-in-law
A newborn with a red
mark/rash/bruise on the back of the
head will have the mark cut by the
traditional healer.
Ukuthwala
Smanje
Ibala
Virginity testing
Perceived by rural leaders as a
system rather than a practice.
Widow
cleansing
A man must have intercourse with a
widow to “cleanse” her before she can
11 | P a g e
Issues
Recommended action
(recommendee)
Needs to be made consonant with the
constitution (Commission for Gender
Equality)
Should be prohibited (Commission)
Sometime results in sepsis or other
problems leading to child mortality
Positive: gives girls a platform for selfexpressions; can provide for community
responses to GBV (e.g., involving police
in rape cases)
Negatives: concerns about bodily
integrity, confidentiality, and
cleanliness/hygiene.
Girls will sometime opt for anal sex to
avoid running afoul of VT
Who checks whether the men are HIV+?
Needs to be balanced with provisions
that protect a girl’s right to choice,
dignity, etc. (Commission)
In order to function positively, the
whole community must be involved.
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
remarry
Polygamy
Secondary
virginity
Negatives: Does this encourage
acceptability of MCP?
Positives: If done within legal provisions,
it protects women in cases of separation
or widowhood.
Rather than debate the merits of the
practice, should teach women about
what to expect and their rights (e.g.,
that the first wife legally must approve
of any subsequent marriage). Should
be treated as a SRHR (DM, DWCPD)
A girl who has been sexually active by
choice or force can, after a period of
abstinence, become a virgin again
3] Traditional Practices – Adolescence and Before Pregnancy
Practice
Common: pill,
injection,
condoms,
morning after
pill.
Less
common:
thigh sex,
abstinence,
virginity testing
(KZN);
withdrawal
method, female
condom.
Other
practices:
various stuff
taken post sex
to prevent
pregnancy
(e.g.
bicarbonate of
12 | P a g e
Definition
Issues
Recommended action
(recommendee)
CADRE
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
soda, essence
of life);
insert a sponge
to absorb
sperm;
muthi buried in
the yard;
coloured string
around the
waist;
taking a
shower;
cough or jump
up and down to
expel sperm;
abortion.
4] Traditional Practices – Pregnancy
Practice
Women
encouraged to
drink
homemade
beer during
pregnancy
(considered
healthy)
Youth are not
aware of how
to track the
duration of
their pregnancy
as they do not
know how to
13 | P a g e
Definition
Issues
Recommended action
(recommendee)
FAMSA
FAMSA
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
count their
months during
pregnancies
Women are
prohibited to
eat nutritious
food and drink
cold water
Visitors not
allowed in lying
room (e.g.,
menstruating
women and
baby’s father).
May lead to poor nutritional status
Capricorn NoL
Can lead to depression which in turn
leads to poor breast milk production.
5] Traditional Practices - Post-Natal
Practice
Heavy bleeding
is desirable
Women are
supposed to
rest in bed for
6 weeks and
more.
Women are
prohibited to
eat nutritious
food and drink
cold water
Visitors not
allowed in lying
room (e.g.,
menstruating
women and
baby’s father).
Health facilities
14 | P a g e
Definition
Issues
Anaemia
Where reported
Capricorn NoL
Anaemia; Lack of exercise delays
healing (e.g., with c/section, episiotomy)
Capricorn NoL
May lead to poor nutritional status
Capricorn NoL
Can lead to depression which in turn
leads to poor breast milk production.
Causes illness such as diarrhea.
Research Finding – output 3 grantees – situational analysis; baseline data and networks of learning 19 January 2014
encourages
mothers to
exclusively
breast feed
their babies,
while at home
grannies
encourage
traditional
herbs and soft
porridge.
The umbilical
cord is
smeared with
cow dung and
traditional
medicines.
ukuchaza
15 | P a g e
Infections
This refers to the practice whereby
newborns are taken to a traditional
healer and remain there for at least 10
days. Blades are then used to make
incisions on the newborn in order for
the traditional healer to apply
traditional medicine on the infant for
the ancestors to protect him/her.
Key informants strongly maintained that
this is not impacting negatively on health
however more research is needed to
verify this (Black Sash)
uMgungundlovu e.g. Mkhambathini.