Traditional methods in infant care by parents to 0-24 months old babies

INTRODUCTION: To determine the distribution of the traditional methods used in infant care by parents with 0-24 months old infants and to investigate their relationship with sociodemographic factors. MATERIALS and METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted between September and October 2018 in a pediatric outpatient clinic of Denizli Pamukkale University Medical Faculty Hospital. The sample size was calculated as 384. Data were collected by applying a questionnaire consisting of 56 questions to the volunteer participants using a face-to-face interview technique Data were analyzed with SPSS 15 program. RESULTS: The study had 351 participants (91.4%). The mean age of the mothers was 29.4 ± 5.6; the mean age of the fathers was 32.7 ± 5.9 years. Of the parents, 97.2% who have children between 0-24 months stated that they used at least one traditional method in baby care. The three most commonly used methods were salting (65.0%), protection from evil eye (49.9%) and perineal care (46.2%), respectively. Lower maternal age (P=0,002), living with grandparents (p=0,008), learning about infant care from non-book sources (p=0,016) are independent risk factors in applying traditional methods of infant care (p0,05). CONCLUSIONS: Conventional methods are used by the majority of parents in infant care. © 2020, Galenos. All rights reserved.