Abstract

Indigenous medicine, its importance and expenditure are fast increasing in many parts of the world, predominantly in developing countries. Though traditional medicine encompasses a number of healthcare problems, this study was conducted with the major aim of investigating the beliefs and practices of traditional medicine in reproductive health care (pre and postnatal care, and child delivery services), with an accent on rural women in Damot Woyde Wereda (District) of Wolayitta Zone in Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region. Employing a cross-sectional qualitative approach, primary data were collected on the respondents’ beliefs and practices of reproductive health care. Results showed that prenatal and child delivery care are the major services rural women get from traditional medicine practitioners in relation to reproductive health; whereas, postnatal care services are not as such significant. None of the reproductive health problems is believed to be caused by supernatural forces. And the practice of traditional medicine is not accompanied by the belief that the issues should be addressed by the practitioners because they are caused by supernatural forces. Besides, it is widely believed that the knowledge on traditional medicine has been passed orally from generation to generation. The study concludes that traditional medicine and its practitioners have decisive place in the provision of reproductive health services in rural areas.

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