Determining the Traditional Practices During Pregnancy and Postpartum Period in Erzurum

Objective: the purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the traditional practices women conducted during pregnancy and the postpartum period. method: 111 women attending the obstetrics department of a university hospital between 2^nd february 2009 and 10^th april 2009, and accepting to participate in this study were included in this study. a questionnaire, prepared by the researchers, was used to collect data. percentage distributions were used to evaluate data. results: 33.3% of the women participating in the study were aged between 20 and 25, 46.8% were primary school graduates, and 64% had nuclear families. it was determined that during their postpartum period 38.7% of women conducted traditional practices related to breastfeeding, 52.3% conducted traditional practices related to puerperality, and 92.8% conducted traditional practices related to infant care. conclusion: results of this study prove that women conducted various traditional practices during their pregnancy and postpartum period; women conducted traditional practices regarding infant care at higher level.