Exploring Young Mother’s Perspectives on Pumwani Hospital’s Communication Strategies to promote Maternal Nutrition in Mathare

Abstract

The unique nutritional needs of young mothers, especially those from the informal settlements during and after pregnancy, have placed a great emphasis on a prompt need for more holistic nutrition communication strategies that takes into consideration their cultural values and beliefs. In line with this call together with the global nutrition targets for 2025, this study explored the perspectives of young mothers regarding the communication strategies employed by Pumwani Hospital to promote maternal nutrition in Mathare, guided by four questions: 1) What are young mothers’ perspectives on how Pumwani hospital communicates the perceived risks of poor maternal nutrition in Mathare? 2) What are young mothers’ perspectives on the perceived benefits of the maternal nutrition communication strategies used by Pumwani hospital? 3) What are perceived barriers that young mothers face with Pumwani hospital’s communication strategies promoting maternal nutrition in Mathare? 4) What are the young mothers’ perspectives on social support networks and cues to action that Pumwani hospital uses to promote maternal nutrition in Mathare? Using exploratory research design that is descriptive in nature and guided by a qualitative research approach, the study conducted interviews with six young mothers and two focus group discussions of 6 mothers each. Data collected was transcribed manually and analyzed using NVivo 14 software to identify the key themes and the perspectives of young mothers on the themes. Anchored on the Health Belief Model, the results showed that Pumwani hospital communicates the perceived risks of poor maternal nutrition through use of pictures and one-on-one visits. One key perceived benefit that young mothers associated with the hospital’s maternal nutrition communication strategies is increased awareness and the subsequent knowledge they have gained because of better understanding and awareness of the importance of good adherence to maternal nutrition practices. The analysis also identified low literacy and economic constraint as two major perceived barriers young mothers face with Pumwani hospital’s communication strategies promoting maternal nutrition in Mathare. Despite the perceived barriers identified, the results confirmed that young mothers interviewed appreciated the hospital’s effort to consider family involvement as a core social support network in its promotion of proper maternal nutrition in Mathare. In conclusion, the findings emphasize the importance of culturally sensitive and community-driven approaches that hospitals like Pumwani hospital should always consider in their communication strategies to promote maternal nutrition in informal settlements. The study recommends that further research should consider comparative analysis of communication strategies employed by different hospitals to promote maternal nutrition among young mothers from informal settlements.