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Once upon a time, there were six little pigs who set out to seek their fortunes in the world (okay, we know that in the original story there were only three, but just bear with us here!). Far away from home they journeyed, until the first little pig spied a peaceful meadow with a stream running through it; there he stopped his hot and weary journey. In 2 hours he had built himself a house of straw,...
Breastfeeding is an inexpensive, natural source of nature’s perfectly defined food for infants. In addition to optimal nutrition, breastfeeding provides infants with natural immunity to childhood diseases through antibodies in the mother’s milk, thereby increasing health and decreasing mortality. If both are in good health, breastfeeding can provide an important bonding experience between mother and...
Sixteen-year-old Anna gave birth to her second child in the Salvation Army Clinic in the Ashanti Province of Ghana, having lost her first. She thanked God for safe passage for herself and for the child. “Whether I cried or shouted I was going to give birth to the baby, so there’s no need for us to cry or shout. All that I needed to do was to keep calm and be praying in my mind to God so that He could...
There is an abundant literature on the history and medicalization of birth and reproduction, from conception, to the maternal body, to the labors of birth itself (see Davis-Floyd and Sargent 1997; Devries et al. 2001; Ehrenreich and English 1973; Graham and Oakley 1981; Martin 1992; Rapp 2000; Trevathan 1997). Much of this research examines the cultural-social dimensions of medicine and women’s bodies...
The desire to control birth in China has roots in the country’s chaotic political history of the past several centuries and the resulting deep desire for stability in all aspects of life. For most of the country’s long history, China – with its large cities, extensive libraries, sophisticated technology, fine arts and silks, and rich medical tradition – was a civilization far ahead of its Western...
Hong Kong is located at the southeast tip of China and has a population of approximately seven million. She is a major international city with a unique blend of cultures of the East and the West. Although more than 95% of Hong Kong’s population is Chinese (Census and Statistic Department 2008), Western medical therapies are dominant. This situation illustrates a significant shift in Chinese culture...
Traditionally, Korean culture is hierarchical, and the man is the most important person in the family. The Korean woman is submissive to her husband and her husband's family, particularly her mother-in-law. Long ago, it was very desirable to give birth to boys who were treated with special care; this was especially the case for the first-born boy.
Modernisation in Japan has changed the modes of childbirth dramatically – from home delivery surrounded by family members to delivery in a hospital in a bright clean room surrounded by medical professionals. However, Japanese women and their families still maintain cultural traditions in modified ways. Tradition and modern medicine exist side by side in contemporary Japanese childbirth. This chapter...
In a country of more than one billion people, with 20 odd principal languages, about 225 dialects, and at least two principal religions, it is difficult to say anything about a phenomenon like childbirth that would hold true for the different regions and peoples of India. But what can be said is that about 65% of the births are at home in opposition to perhaps 3% in the United States. If we break...
This chapter examines rural midwifery as a form of knowledge that is undervalued by both Indian and Western elite traditions. Even in asking, “What is the culture of birth like in non-Western societies?”, we assume a complete separation of Western and Indian knowledge systems. It is not simply today’s modern India which has brought about a blurring of such boundaries. Such bifurcations were muddied...
This chapter is about the construction of birth in rural Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, maternal deaths are very prevalent, 320 per 100,000 live births annually, and the construct of birth that is produced in everyday life results in many unwarranted and unnecessary deaths. Various social constructions of birth are observed in everyday life, both in indigenous ways and hospital birth practices. The power...
Nepal is a land-locked country situated between India and China. The landmass of Nepal is 147,181 sq. km and the population is 23.1 million (Central Bureau of Statistics 2001).
To Tibetans life does not begin at birth, but rather at conception. After death, a being’s consciousness… wanders in an intermediate realm until impelled by the forces of its own karma to enter a womb at the instant of conception. Gestation is a hazardous time when women try to consume foods and seek spiritual means to prevent any harm coming to their growing baby. Once born, the child must fight...
Childbirth, including the period immediately following birth, is an event in which traditions play an important part (Symonds 1991; Liamputtong Rice 2000a; Liamputtong 2004, 2007a, b).
Childbearing in any society is a biological event, but the birth experience is also socially constructed. It takes place within a cultural context and is shaped by the perceptions and practices of that culture (Steinberg 1996 Liamputtong Rice 2000a, b Liamputtong 2007a, b). Therefore, there are many beliefs and practices relating to the childbearing process that the woman and her family must observe...
Israel is a small country of great diversity. The winter in the north is cold and snowy, yet 5 hours drive to the south the weather is sunny and dry. It takes an hour to drive from the Mediterranean Sea to the dry deserts near the border with Jordan (Fig. 1). Even more diverse than the weather are the people living in Israel. According to the Statistical Abstract the population of Israel in 2008 was...
Amina, a 20 year-old woman, living in a small rural village of Morocco, is expecting her first baby. Her labour started when she was at term while her husband was far away; her mother-in-law was assisting her. After almost 24 hours of difficult labour, seeing the distress that Amina was going through, the mother-in-law called for her second son in order to help for a transfer to the nearest village birthing center. After a few hours, Amina’s brother-in-law was able to bring her to that center using a neighbour’s tractor, as the sun was setting; the only midwife on duty had already left. Two hours later, after much search, the midwife arrived and diagnosed an obstructed labour. She requested that Amina be transported to the hospital, which was far away; darkness and lack of gas in the truck made them wait for the next day’ s once daily public transportation. Amina suffered a haemorrhage. When they got to the hospital, the gynaecologist was not available; the members of the staff were impatient, increasing the level of anxiety and pain that Amina was experiencing. By the time the gynaecologist arrived, Amina’s uterus had ruptured. Amina and her baby girl died....
The health care system in Zimbabwe is characterised as pluralistic, because of the co-existence and concurrent use of traditional and biomedical practitioners. The traditional healers, including Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), continue to play an important role in the provision of health care in Zimbabwe (Mukumbura 2000). They are often used for conditions such as infertility (Mutambirwa 1989)...
Nigeria is a huge African country, home to 20% of Africans, with a population of about 140 million people (National Population Commission 2006). It also has a high fertility rate, although the 2003 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2001) shows a slight decline in the total fertility rate. Fertility also varies by region. In the South women have 4.1 children on average, compared to 7.0 children...
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