María del Carmen Cortés- López, Teresa Margarita Torres-López, Alfredo Larrosa-Haro and María de los Ángeles Covarrubias-Bermúdez
Introduction: Diarrheal diseases are still one of the causes of infant death around the world, due to inadequate feeding and rehydration practices at home. There are not previous qualitative and interpretative studies in the area.
Objective: To know the feeding and rehydration practices of mothers of infants who were hospitalized for diarrheal disease.
Methodological design: Interpretative study based on the principles of phenomenology. We interviewed 10 mothers of hospitalized infants in Unidad Docente Asistencial de Terapia de Hidratación Oral y Saneamiento del Hospital Civil de Guadalajara “Dr. Juan I. Menchaca” during 2016. Thematic content analysis strategies were applied, which consisted of reading and re-reading for: a) Codification and b) Categorization, a conceptual map was drawn up showing the relationships identified between the categories.
Results: Oral rehydration salts, vegetables and fruits were the most recommended drinks and foods identified to treat diarrheal diseases. In contrast, soda, and dry or oily food were the least recommended by mothers.
Conclusion: The rehydration and feeding practices included adequate elements to treat diarrhea, but also those that can aggravate it, this, according to the scientific literature.
