A Critical Review: Traditional Practices Surrounding Postpartum Period Impact on Breastfeeding in Turkey and the UK

For many years, many studies have been conducted to understand the highly controversial nature of many cultural practices. Viewing the wider collective rituals of the postpartum period is helpful to understand cultural breastfeeding practices. Despite breastfeeding rates being lower in Western societies, traditional breastfeeding practices are quite common in underdeveloped and developing countries. Although the social and cultural structure in the UK does not seem similar to that of Turkey, great differences in terms of traditional postpartum practice effect on breastfeeding may not be seen between the two countries. The critical review aimed to identify a search for the recent practice from 2007 to 2021. Five key search words are used in various combinations including the following: breastfeeding, cultural practices, postpartum breastfeeding practices, infant feeding, and postpartum traditional practices. The major databases searched for this review include PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, MIDIRS, Cochrane, DergiPark, and Turkish equivalent of the International Scientific Citation Index (Higher Education Council National Thesis Centre). The findings of this critical review provided positive contributions to clinical practices and future studies. Breastfeeding is beneficial both physiologically and psychosocially for both mother and baby, and traditional cultural practices play a critical and fundamental role in postnatal care in many societies. In addition, it is necessary and important to carry out more studies in the literature related to traditional breastfeeding practices, revealing the fact that different practices can be done in postnatal care.

Cite this article as: Kaya, G. D. (2022). A critical review: Traditional practices surrounding postpartum period impact on breastfeeding in Turkey and the UK. Journal of Midwifery and Health Sciences, 5(3), 131-138.