Maternal Adaptation and Cultural Backgrounds | Instant Homework Help

Throughout nursing school and the growing times of today, the importance of cultural competency as a future health care provider has been embedded in my head. Cultural competency is especially important in the United States due to diverse communities. Sadly, “medical practice in the Western world has been shaped by a particular set of ethical norms” (Malek, 2017). Specifically, in the pregnant population, culture has a large impact on the mother’s decisions that affect their self and fetus’ health care. 

There are many decisions an expectant mother must make for her, as well as her child’s health. During pregnancy “culture determines how the future mother will perceive her pregnancy and prepare for her motherhood” (Sharapova and Ratcliff, 2018). A prime example of a difficult decision a mother in labor has to make is whether or not they want medications to alleviate the pain they are experiencing. It is common knowledge to know that giving birth is discomforting and painful but it is “their culture and religious belief system that determine how they will perceive, interpret, respond to, and manage the pain” (Lowdermilk, 2020). Some women choose to endure the pain so that they are not perceived as weak for asking for medications to ease the pain. 

Another important decision that a mother must make is whether or not they want to breastfeed their child. A study by Jones et al. (2015) examined the factors that impacted the choice of breastfeeding or not with different cultures. An example from Jones’ et al. (2015) study found that “least accultured Mexican Americans had the highest rates of breastfeeding initiation whereas those who were most acculturated exhibited the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation.” It is interesting to see that although people may share a similar culture/ethnicity can still have differences due to acculturation.

Culture is such a complex topic because there are just so many different types. Although we may be taught some cultural differences in school, it is just a quick generalization of them. As a health care provider, it is still crucial to do additional research to gain more knowledge and aspect of other cultures. A study by Kang (2014) found that “when providers assign limited and generalized cultural understanding and meanings to an identified ethnic group, they gloss over the intricate within-group diversity as well as the complex social and historical contexts within which those cultural meanings may exist.” The more that we educate ourselves and dive deeper in the context of culture, the more likely our patients will have greater outcomes. 

References

Kang H. K. (2014). Influence of culture and community perceptions on birth and perinatal care of immigrant women: doulas’ perspective. The Journal of perinatal education, 23(1), 25–32. 

Lowdermilk, D. L., Perry, S. E., Cashion, K., Alden, K. R., & Olshansky, E. F. (2020). Maternity & women’s health care. Elsevier.

Malek, J. (2017). Maternal Decision-making During Pregnancy: Parental Obligations and Cultural Differences. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics &Gynaecology, 43, 10–20. 

Sharapova, A., &Goguikian Ratcliff, B. (2018). Psychosocial and Sociocultural Factors Influencing Antenatal Anxiety and Depression in Non-precarious Migrant Women. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1200.