Tema-Ghana, July 14, – Let’s protect and inculcate helpful traditional practices into our modern-day way of life, as Dr. Amma Benin, a Paediatrician at the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) in Tema, has stated.
She cited the Ghanaian cultural practice of bonding babies into the larger family systems through consistent interaction, stressing, “Let us return to the days when family members came to help mothers immediately after delivery.
“The practice relieved stresses on the mother and strengthened family unity, she said, stressing that during those days, family members exchanged stories and sang, which helped the baby interact with family members right from infancy.
Dr. Benin gave the advice when treating the topic “Cultural practices that affect child health” at the weekly “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility!
The initiative aimed at promoting health-related communication and providing a platform for health information dissemination to influence personal health choices through improved health literacy.
The public health advocacy platform “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility” to investigate the components of four health communication approaches: informing, instructing, convincing, and promoting.
She stated that while some cultural practices were dangerous, others were really good and should be fostered at all times.
She stated that some healthy cultural practices involved putting beads around their wrists and other parts of their body to assess whether the baby was gaining or losing weight.
The IMaH Head of Paediatric Department noted that putting chameleon powder as a band around the infant’s wrist was safe and that applying chalk in the hair to stop hiccups, among other things, had no effect on the baby.
She advised against, among other things, bathing babies right after delivery, using hot water to close the front tunnel, pouring breast milk in the child’s eye, and giving the baby water after hiccups.
She went on to say that child marriage, child labour, and female genital mutilation are all practices that should not be condoned in society.
She did, however, clarify that some of these practices do not damage the infant and, as such, the lady could continue to practice them in order to meet societal cultural expectations.
Dr. Benin went on to say that there were numerous beliefs and practices, but it was critical that what was practiced did not impede the baby’s growth and development.
