School of Nursing, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Women Birth. 2011 Mar;24(1):24-31. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2010.06.004. Epub 2010 Jul 31.
To explore and describe postpartum experiences of first-time mothers in a Tanzanian, multiethnic, low-income suburb.
Individual qualitative interviews with 10 first-time mothers, 4-10 weeks postpartum in Ilala suburb, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The first-time mothers enjoyed motherhood and the respectful status it implied. To understand and handle the infant's needs and own bodily changes were important during postpartum. The tradition of abstaining from sex up to 4 years during breastfeeding was a concern as male's faithfulness was questioned and with HIV a threat to family health. Partner relationship changed towards shared parental and household work and the man's active participation was appreciated. Support from family members and others in the neighbourhood were utilised as a resource by the mothers. In instances of uncertainties on how to handle things, their advice was typically followed. The new mothers generally had good experiences of health care during the childbearing period. However, they also experienced insufficiencies in knowledge transfer, disrespectful behaviour, and unofficial fees. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: The mothers' perspective of postpartum revealed that they actively searched for ways to attain infants' and own health needs, and family health in general. Prolonged sexual abstinence was considered a risk for the partner having other sexual partners and contracting HIV. The mothers relied heavily on the informal support network, which sometimes meant risking family health due to misinformation and harmful practices. Health care and informal support systems should complement each other to attain adequate support for the families postpartum.
探索并描述坦桑尼亚一个多民族、低收入郊区初产妇的产后经历。
在坦桑尼亚达累斯萨拉姆伊拉拉郊区，对 10 名产后 4-10 周的初产妇进行个体定性访谈。
初产妇享受为人母的感觉及其带来的受尊重的地位。理解和满足婴儿的需求以及自身身体的变化是产后的重要内容。母乳喂养期间长达 4 年禁止性行为的传统令人担忧，因为这会让人质疑男性的忠诚，而艾滋病毒则威胁到家庭健康。伴侣关系发生了变化，共同承担育儿和家务劳动，男性的积极参与受到赞赏。产妇会利用家庭成员和邻居的支持作为资源。在不确定如何处理事情的情况下，她们通常会听从他人的建议。新妈妈们在生育期间对医疗保健的总体体验良好。然而，她们也经历了知识转移不足、不尊重行为和非正式收费等问题。
从产后的角度来看，母亲们积极寻求满足婴儿和自身健康需求以及家庭健康的方法。长期禁欲被认为是伴侣有其他性伴侣和感染艾滋病毒的风险。母亲们严重依赖非正式的支持网络，这有时会因为错误信息和有害做法而危及家庭健康。医疗保健和非正式支持系统应该相互补充，为家庭提供充分的产后支持。
