Angela P.

Neri September 20, 2019

BSN 209

The Role of Culture in Maintaining Post-Partum Sexual Abstinence of Swazi Women

According to International Commission of Fertility (2014), post-partum sexual abstinence is a

period of voluntary sexual abstinence after pregnancy and delivery. In Eswatini, African, their Swazi culture
practice post-partum abstinence for 6 months period. But there’s a decrease globally period of sexual post-
partum abstinence affected by several factors (WHO). Such as the type of marriage, the baby’s gender, the
high-risk of HIV and STDs in both adverse maternal, fetal outcomes, and the partner’s sexual partnership
to other women while the mother is in abstinence.

Based on the results of the study, the participants have a positive attitude towards the practice,
beneficial to their family influenced by their social beliefs and values as a cultural norm. The participants
recognize the disadvantages of early resumption of the practice may risk their partners having STDs and
affect their belief of acquiring a baby illness called “kubemenda”, were used as control for the mother to
practice the norm. The root of this pressure is the place of residence, usually the patriarchal cultural practice
that oppresses women. But the participants stated that men don’t believe in post-partum sexual abstinence.

On that note, as a nursing students, proper interventions shall be discussed upon during pregnancy
and post-partum with the involvement of the partner and family which will create openness in discussing
sexual relations and health-related matters after childbirth and ease cultural norms suppressing women and
perpetuating harmful behaviors are needed. The information generated from this study would help health
care providers to improve the knowledge given to childbearing women during prenatal care and after
childbirth regarding post-partum resumption of sexual intercourse and the baby’s health outcome.
Nevertheless, considerations to the varying cultural practice can still be included to the intervention based
on the health and behavior of mother and baby to reduce high infant or child mortality and contracting HIV
or STI.

References
Zinhle Shabanagu, S. M. (2019). The Role of Culture in Maintaining Post-Partum. International Journal
of Environmental Research and Public Health. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31330772?fbclid=IwAR06X3QNbCL8mIxE5XdPLbbfqT
xVpoxNQ3f4FGIjMo0gBAeKfSvcD0QnmQA