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<article article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:lang="ru"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">sociolpolitol</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="ru">Вестник Московского университета. Серия 18. Социология и политология</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title>Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 18. Sociology and Political Science</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="ppub">1029-3736</issn><issn pub-type="epub">2541-8769</issn><publisher><publisher-name>Publishing House of Lomonosov Moscow State University</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.24290/1029-3736-2026-32-1-204-214</article-id><article-id custom-type="elpub" pub-id-type="custom">sociolpolitol-1508</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>СОЦИОЛОГИЯ ЗДОРОВЬЯ</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>African traditional approaches to child health among teenage mothers in Kenya</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title>African traditional approaches to child health among teenage mothers in Kenya</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><name-alternatives><name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ru"><surname>Musembi</surname><given-names>T. Y.</given-names></name><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Musembi</surname><given-names>T. Y.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>Teresia Y. Musembi - Department of Philosophy.</p><p>St. Obraztsova, 9, bld. 9, GSP-4, Moscow, 127994</p></bio><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Teresia Y. Musembi - Department of Philosophy.</p><p>St. Obraztsova, 9, bld. 9, GSP-4, Moscow, 127994</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">traceycecil@gmail.com</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff-1"><aff xml:lang="ru"><institution>Russian University of Transport (MIIT)</institution><country>Россия</country></aff><aff xml:lang="en"><institution>Russian University of Transport (MIIT)</institution><country>Russian Federation</country></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2026</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>10</day><month>02</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>32</volume><issue>1</issue><fpage>204</fpage><lpage>214</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>Copyright &amp;#x00A9; Musembi T.Y., 2026</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Musembi T.Y.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Musembi T.Y.</copyright-holder><license xml:lang="ru" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.</license-p></license><license xml:lang="en" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.</license-p></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://vestnik.socio.msu.ru/jour/article/view/1508">https://vestnik.socio.msu.ru/jour/article/view/1508</self-uri><abstract><p>Traditional African healthcare beliefs and practices, are part and parcel of the maternal and child well-being in the Kenyan rural settings, particularly amongst vulnerable groups including teenage mothers. Focus has been given to this particular group because children born to adolescent mothers are at a high risk of health complications yet they frequently lack access to basic formal healthcare due to factors such as culture, economic challenges and social aspects. Due to these circumstances, traditional birth attendants, herbal medicine and spiritual interventions often shape caregiving behavior. This study explores ways in which African cultural traditions, influence health outcomes of children aged five and below born to adolescent mothers. In order to collect qualitative data, desktop research method was applied in synthesizing results from peer-reviewed articles, public health records and use of ethnography. Thematic analysis was conducted to come up with patterns, trends and associations from the data collected through coding. This analysis enabled the researcher to identify themes representing key patterns including communal caregiving, dependence on herbal medicine and spiritual healing, lack of trust towards biomedical systems and future prospects to incorporate traditional and modern health systems. The results show both the positive and negative aspects of African traditional practices. Even though cultural practices may help in provision of emotional and social support to adolescent mothers, they are also associated with delayed clinical interventions which may have detrimental effects. In conclusion, the study recommends the integration of cultural strategies in healthcare through the engagement of traditional practitioners, promoting reverential clinical settings and supporting adolescent mothers by ensuring they are fully included when adopting health policies.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="en"><p>Traditional African healthcare beliefs and practices, are part and parcel of the maternal and child well-being in the Kenyan rural settings, particularly amongst vulnerable groups including teenage mothers. Focus has been given to this particular group because children born to adolescent mothers are at a high risk of health complications yet they frequently lack access to basic formal healthcare due to factors such as culture, economic challenges and social aspects. Due to these circumstances, traditional birth attendants, herbal medicine and spiritual interventions often shape caregiving behavior. This study explores ways in which African cultural traditions, influence health outcomes of children aged five and below born to adolescent mothers. In order to collect qualitative data, desktop research method was applied in synthesizing results from peer-reviewed articles, public health records and use of ethnography. Thematic analysis was conducted to come up with patterns, trends and associations from the data collected through coding. This analysis enabled the researcher to identify themes representing key patterns including communal caregiving, dependence on herbal medicine and spiritual healing, lack of trust towards biomedical systems and future prospects to incorporate traditional and modern health systems. The results show both the positive and negative aspects of African traditional practices. Even though cultural practices may help in provision of emotional and social support to adolescent mothers, they are also associated with delayed clinical interventions which may have detrimental effects. In conclusion, the study recommends the integration of cultural strategies in healthcare through the engagement of traditional practitioners, promoting reverential clinical settings and supporting adolescent mothers by ensuring they are fully included when adopting health policies.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>Religious beliefs</kwd><kwd>African traditions</kwd><kwd>African religion</kwd><kwd>Adolescent mothers</kwd><kwd>Care givers</kwd><kwd>Motherhood</kwd><kwd>Kenya</kwd><kwd>Retrogressive cultures</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>Religious beliefs</kwd><kwd>African traditions</kwd><kwd>African religion</kwd><kwd>Adolescent mothers</kwd><kwd>Care givers</kwd><kwd>Motherhood</kwd><kwd>Kenya</kwd><kwd>Retrogressive cultures</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front><back><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="cit1"><label>1</label><citation-alternatives><mixed-citation xml:lang="ru">Kumar M., Huang K.Y. 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