Pregnancy and childbirth beliefs and practices of American Hare Krishna devotees within transcultural nursing

Abstract

The followers of Krishna Consciousness are primarily young men and women of child-bearing age who desire healthy pregnancies within the beliefs and practices of their particular culture. The researcher spent a year and a half with American Hare Krishna devotees in a large Southeastern city and on a farm in a neighboring state. The researcher used Leininger's Cultural Care Theory and the ethnographic qualitative research method to focus on the ethnohistory, social structures, and care and caring beliefs and practices of the group related to pregnancy and childbirth. Transcultural nursing implications were derived from the study. While the research was done in 1981 and 1982, the researcher has been back to visit the Krishna devotees several times. Contact with other Krishna followers in different places has also been accomplished since the study. The researcher has found that the same cultural beliefs, practices, and values have prevailed within the group over the years.