Culturally Congruent Care for the Yemeni Woman Lindsay Miklo* BSN, RN; Kim Basham* BSN, RN Hiba Wehbe-Alamah, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CTN-A University of Michigan-Flint Cultural/Religious Beliefs & Practices Care of Pregnant Woman Care of Newborn 99% of population is Muslim Congregational Friday Prayer Modesty is important Fatalistic attitude toward life and death: illness as “God’s will” Belief that evil eye-causes illness Halal diet Abstinence from pork and alcohol products Healers/pharmacists/descendants of the Profit Muhammad sought for healing Prefers same gender healthcare provider Values modesty and privacy during examinations Desires to be supported by other Yemeni women during childbirth Birth attendant, delivery position and location are a woman’s choice Resumes work quickly after delivery Cultural norm: Husband absent during labor & delivery Husband attends to newborn Woman chooses name of newborn Early weaning Increased bottle feeding Over-dilution of formula often with contaminated water Culturally Congruent Care Conduct a thorough cultural assessment Avoid stereotyping Preserve modesty Provide halal diet Allow for female caregiver when requested Restructure practice of khat chewing Repattern female circumcision cultural practice Maternal & Infant Mortality Rate Women's Health Issues 76% home births Lack of prenatal care Young age at pregnancy Close birth spacing Low prevalence of contraception Postpartum hemorrhage Malnutrition and anemia Khat chewing even during pregnancy leading to poor lactation and postpartum depression Reproductive tract infections Miscarriages and stillbirths Complications from unsafe abortions Delayed treatment Female circumcision as a cultural practice Figure 1. Maternal mortality rate per 100,00 live births Select References Al-Abed, A. A., Sutan, R., Al-Dubai, S. R., & Aljunid, S. M. (2014). Family context and khat chewing among adult Yemeni women: A cross-sectional study. Biomed Research International, 1,1-6. DeJong, J., Bahubaishi, N., & Attal, B. (2012). Effects of reproductive morbidity on women’s lives and cost of accessing treatment in Yemen. Reproductive Health Matters, 20(40), 129-138. Kempe, A., Theorell, T., Alwazer, F. N., Christensson, K., & Johansson, A. (2013). Yemenis women’s perceptions of own authority during childbirth: What does it have to do with achieving the millennium development goals?. Midwifery, 29(10), 1182-1189. Riniker, K. (2012). Women's health in Yemen: Factors influencing maternal and infant health, fertility rates, the public health care system, education, and globalization. Journal of Global Health Perspectives, 1,1-7. (Further references available upon request from kbasham@umflint.edu or lrodewal@umflint.edu) * Doctor of Nursing Practice Students Infant mortality rate 75 per 1,000 live births