A Child is Born

-Germaine Greer (b. 1939- )

               

There are many ways of managing childbirth in traditional societies. They are accepted culturally and collectively. So, a woman who is going to give birth does not have to worry about the procedures.  Her anxiety about the childbirth is managed with taboos and prohibitions by the rituals. She earns enough confidence with them. The support of her husband and other kinsfolk increases her sense of security and her conviction that she can conduct pregnancy.

               

On the other hand, childbirth is unattended in a modern society. The hospital staff are often uncooperative about breast feeding. Childbirth is taken as a tragedy to be prevented. Though infant and mother mortality is less in modern society, the mother does not get psychological support from the family and the others.

               

In many traditional societies, a woman does not become a member of the new family (the family of her husband) until she has borne a child. The bride, too, longs for the child who will stand in the same intimate relationship with her as she has with her mother. The modern society regards this practice as backward, cruel and wrong.

               

In a traditional society, a woman loses her name and becomes known as the mother of her first child. Her surname also sinks into the surname of her husband. In some societies, the child’s relationship with the extended family is considered more important than with the parents. So, they are born under the group’s pressure, not at the parents’ choice. They are very curious to see the baby and they celebrate the birth. A pregnant woman is rewarded the chance to visit her mother and relatives.

               

In Bangladesh, children under the age of five or six are looked after by the whole family. All the children of the joint family are looked after together. They don’t play with toys as they would do in Britain. They play with natural things which they themselves make. All the female members of the family have a very strong relationship with them.

               

Sometimes technological changes cause social problems. One of the most problematic areas of modernization is the impact of Western medicine in traditional societies. In a poor society, modern hospital facilities are expensive. So, a hospital cannot be established without foreign aid. Moreover, the peasant communities are skeptical about western medicines. As a result, many women lose their lives during childbirth.

               

If there is no one at home to welcome the child, to praise the mother for her courage and to help her raise it, women will not be ready to give birth. If we succeed in crushing all pride and dignity out of child bearing, the population explosion will take care of itself.