Maternal care mechanisms in two comparative contexts: Mexico-Beijing

Abstract

The care mechanisms performed by a mother become an important part of the health-disease-care process aiming at solving a health problem presented in family. These mechanisms employ resources of the different systems of care and may vary according specific circumstances: knowledge and presentation of the disease, the reasons for seeking treatment, consultation of health professionals, access to treatment resources and their effectiveness, the disease solution or reformulation of a new care-seeking; all this integrated in a cultural context in which the mother and the patient interact with society. From an anthropological perspective, this study analyzes the components, barriers and strategies that were used by five Mexican women migrants,residents in Beijing, during episodes of childhood disease. An ethnographic method was used through structured interviews with informants and participant observation cases. The information is integrated into four core categories associated with care mechanisms: maternal perception of the problem, access to the material and social therapeutic resources, their effectiveness and the emergence of new problems. The results show that research participants performed maternal care adaptations in their usual care mechanisms during sick child episodes due to important local cultural barriers faced by their migrant status.