ArticlePLOS global public health2023
Sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths surrounding newborn cord care in Bayelsa State, Nigeria: A qualitative study.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- A qualitative systematic review of umbilical cord care practices in Nigeria.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Paternal grandmothers' attitudes and beliefs toward newborn care practices in rural Ghana.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Women's Perceptions on Newborn Care Practices, Knowledge Sources, Benefits, and Challenges in Rural Northern Jordan: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Traditional practices during the first 1000 days of life in Southest region of Türkiye: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Predictors of mothers' home cord care, breastfeeding, and thermoregulation practices for newborns in a South-Eastern State, Nigeria.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Community engagement approaches and lessons learned: a case study of the PRECISE pregnancy cohort study in Kenya.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Understanding cultural barriers to the care of low-birth-weight infants in Papua, Indonesia: A qualitative descriptive study.Belitung nursing journal · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Persisting sociocultural beliefs have continued to significantly influence the adoption of recommended newborn care practices by women in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at identifying the sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths surrounding newborn cord care by women residing in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. This was a qualitative study that involved 24 women and 3 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in three focus group discussions and three in-depth interviews respectively. Interview guides were used to lead the discussions and the interviews which were audiotaped, translated and then transcribed. Thematic analysis was done using NVivo QSR version 12.2 Pro. Several themes describing various sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths surrounding cord care were uncovered. Most women preferred to be delivered by a TBA who usually cuts the infant's cord with a razor blade and ties the stump with hair or sewing thread. Substances used for cord care included methylated spirirt, "African never-die" leaf, and "Close-Up" toothpaste. All the participants agreed that methylated spirit was a potent antiseptic for cord care but none of them had heard about nor used chlorhexidine gel. It was a common belief that abdominal massage and the application of substances to the cord were solutions to common cord-related problems. Mothers, TBAs and relatives were influential regarding choices of cord care practices. Sociocultural practices, beliefs, and myths are still major barriers to the adoption of recommended cord care practices by women in Bayelsa State. Interventions should be targeted at improving delivery in health facilities and educating women in the community on good cord care practices.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.