Question

1. You are a nurse working in a labor and delivery unit in a small town near a Native American reservation. Charity, your patient, is about to give birth to her sixth child. Her family does not have health insurance. Normally she would give birth at home; however, her blood pressure is high. Her family is doing a dance to scare away the evil spirits that brought about this medical condition. She is in a lot of pain but refuses an epidural. She believes that pain is something that should be tolerated. There are also about 20 family members present to watch the birth, including all of her children. After the baby is born, she hand-expresses colostrum from her breasts and disposes of it. Additional family members arrive with all sorts of food to celebrate the birth of the baby. (Learning Objectives 5 and 6)

A. What are the cultural traits with Charity and her baby that are specific to her Native American culture?

B. How would you provide culturally sensitive nursing care to Charity and her baby?

Answer 1

Native American culture gives much more importance to mother which means it is matrilineal. So, the nurse must ensure that she includes maternal figures in decision making realted to treatment and care of the patient.When teaching the client and family about taking medications with food, nurse has to understand that there are cultural differences related to food intake and therefore teaching must include necessary information after studying their food timings.Native Americans believe living in present, so, the nurse has to be vigilant while communicating with the patient and family on matters concerning time such as meetings and follow up after discharge. She has to concentrate her teaching sessions more on child rearing practices rather than child birth and pregnancy. The nurse has to understand the level of pain that the mother is experiencing, as she might not express verbally due to cultural influences. So it is the nurse's responsibility to understand and administer analgesics at time. Before discarding the umbilical cord and placenta, it is the responsibilty of the nurse to inform the mother. The nurse has to communicate face to face while providing health education in a  culturally appropriate manner.