Popular practices in child care: mothers’ perceptions

Abstract

Objective: to describe the perception of mothers about the use of popular child care practices in the home. Methods: qualitative research, performed with ten mothers of children up to two years old. Data were collected through interviews in a primary health care unit, which were recorded and submitted to content analysis. Results: three categories emerged from the analysis of the discourse: 1) Family roles in child care; 2) Popular practices as a family culture in child care; and 3) The belief in healing spells as a resource in popular practice. Conclusion: the use of popular practices remains strong in the social and cultural context of families, and is especially influenced by grandmothers. Thus, there is a need for instrumentation of the health team for the good use of these practices in favor of the promotion of child health and recognition of nursing in its professional practice.