~ Traditional Aboriginal Birthing Issues ~

Guest Lecture

Faith / Multicultural Program of King Edward Memorial Hospital

SEPTEMBER 1996

In speaking here today I would like to honour the Nyoongah people on whose Land this fair city has been built and also to extend an acknowledgement and greeting to Lorretta Helwend, the Aboriginal Liaison Officer here, whose role it is to coordinate support for Aboriginal women who are away from their homes and communities to receive medical attention at KEMH. Before I move into the body of my paper, I would also like to define clearly the position from which I speak: why me?, where does my information comes from?, what I will and won’t be speaking about, and why. This clarification is not meant as an aside, rather it is essential to understanding the complexities of the topic under discussion. Without it my words would be somewhat superficial, at worse hypocritical, so please bear with me.

Being of white skin and British born, I don’t consider myself to be an appropriate person to speak about Aboriginal birthing practices. I am happy to discuss related issues and to analyse the differences between modes of practice but I will not speak about the intricate details of how Aboriginal women give birth in a traditional context. Indeed I acknowledge I am somewhat ignorant in this regard. As far as I am concerned, the women with this knowledge, and the authority to speak about it, are the kin grandmothers, aunties and sisters who form part of the intricate web and strength of Aboriginal families and communities which survive across this great country. Also I do not believe it is necessary to know specific details about traditional birth practises in order to provide appropriate care for indigenous women, rather it is more important to understand and appreciate the underlying attitudes, beliefs and structures of support which enable women of a particular culture to Birth in a particular way. In saying this I do not discourage anyone from pursuing the abundant information that is available about the actual rites and rituals that traditional Aboriginal people have performed across the millennia, as much can be gained from appreciating the sophistication and practical nature of such customs. In this context, as a white woman addressing an audience of primarily non-Aboriginal people, it would be remiss of me to assume any authority over such information. The information I wish to share is however, important to understanding where our own preconceived ideas about pregnancy and childbirth come from and what we, as support people and health professionals, can do to ensure that this experience is more culturally and spiritually fulfilling for the women who share this most intimate and profound event with us.

The information presented in this paper is gathered from over 15 years of fascination with the representation and experience of pregnancy and childbirth. While this time has not included medical training of any sort, my exploration of the subject has been diverse, and the views that I have developed as a result have been expressed using a variety of forms from film-making and performance art through to workshops, journal writing and, at the most fundamental level, through offering my inspiration, compassion and support to women during their pregnancies and as they give birth. As part of my commitment to Aboriginal birthing issues, I lived and worked for two years in Tjirrkarli, a remote community in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands where my initial research on Birth in the Warburton Region (paper submitted to the Ministerial Taskforce on Obstetric, Gynaecological and Neonatal needs across WA) was conducted in 1989. This work was inspired by my concern for Ngaanyatjarra women who are required to leave their remote communities many weeks and sometimes months before their babies are due, to give birth in regional hospitals. This is the case for most other Aboriginal women living in remote parts of Australia. The effect this practise has on individual women, their families and on the collective experience of Aboriginal Women’s Law and Culture can be both devastating and far reaching.

To elaborating on my topic ~ Traditional Aboriginal Birthing Issues, I have taken the liberty of using the term ‘Aboriginal’ in its broadest sense to include indigenous cultures all around the world. The term ‘Traditional’ is used to refer to past practises within our own and other western and industrialised societies. By using similarities across the spectrum of these cultures, rather than idiosynchracies within them, I hope to show how it might be that birthing could be much easier, less painful, more predictable and more affirming than it is for many women giving birth in our society today. You will note that I choose to speak in the present tense when discussing traditional and indigenous birthing issues even though many practices are fast disappearing. The knowledge still survives however and by referring to such information in the present tense, in my own way I am endeavouring to keep various wisdoms alive in the hope that they will not be lost altogether before being acknowledged and appreciated beyond their own culture.

~ To Begin ~

So what are ‘the issues’ to consider when speaking about traditional Aboriginal birthing especially in the context of the how such experiences might continue to find expression in the modern world? Rather than list one issue after another, I believe the inquiry can best be covered by seeking out what might characterise a “traditional birth” as distinct from the western experience of pregnancy and childbirth. In pursuing such a definition we can begin to appreciate not only how individual women may be effected by having to relinquish a heritage of traditional birth practices but also the consequences that her people and their culture as a whole may have to bear in the process.

To attempt a definition of traditional birthing then, I believe four major elements need to be taken into account. The nature of these elements are common not only to Australian Aboriginal cultures but to other indigenous and traditional groups around the world. The elements are:

1. the ante-natal period ~ how the birth event is anticipated and prepared for during pregnancy;

2. who is present at the birth (both literally and spiritually) and what role do these people play;

3. how the birth is actually experienced and;

4. how the birth is integrated into the larger experience of life.

Although all are linked, of the four elements I consider the nature of the first to be of primary significance since the representations of childbirth, which shape the attitudes and dictate preparations, are vital to the traditional birth experience. I will elaborate on each of these elements to draw out a deeper understanding of the dynamics of birthing in a traditional context. By the dynamics of birthing, I mean what is happening for the woman / child during the birth process in relationship to what is happening around them? For me this is the crux of the issue when we begin to analyse and appreciate the differences between the traditional experience of childbirth and that common to our own modern day culture.

~ Anticipating and Preparing for Birth in Traditional Societies ~

Women in traditional societies prepare for birth with the understanding that it is both a natural and sacred part of life. This comes about as a result of various processes not least is the simple fact that girls grow up experiencing close at hand their elder sisters, cousins and aunties as they become mothers. Through birthing women are also seen to take up more status within their extended family and larger community networks. While traditional cultures vary considerably, each has definitive guidelines about how a woman should prepare for the event of childbirth and this is represented to growing girls and pregnant woman in a myriad of ways.

A feature of the care and support provided to traditional women during pregnancy and childbirth which can not be overlooked or overstated is that it is almost exclusively the domain of women. While spouses undoubtedly have their own role to play, throughout the world pregnant women have always been provided with the council and support of their female kin to allay fears, seek guidance, share imaginings and delight in the prospect of a new life born. Over the preceding months, family and community networks of women connect in recognition and respect of the knowledge and folklore which readies a woman for the experience of childbirth. This sharing of information relevant to pregnancy and childbirth varies considerably from one culture to the next. From a few words spoken in whispers through to formal and elaborate ceremonies which may go on for days, each expression and communication essentially works to achieve the same outcome:

~ to affirm, or make sacred, the process of birthing;

~ to build the confidence of the pregnant woman and;

~ to ritually protect both the woman and her unborn child.

Protection rites recognise that pregnancy is a particularly vulnerable time for the woman / child at psychic and emotional levels and the father often has a role in this regard to ensure that his loved ones are kept free of any negative influence.

As a rule pregnancy is a time when a woman is expected to surround herself with all things positive and often great care is taken to avoid anything that may cause blockage, tension or distress. Moments of heightened intensity such as altercations of any sort, being with other women during childbirth, or sighting the body of a deceased loved one, to take another example, are generally considered taboo. It is also considered unthinkable in traditional societies to speak to pregnant women about birth as something which is traumatic, physically painful, unpredictable or unbearable. Birth in such societies is represented, and indeed experienced, at an entirely different level. It is something which is much more profound, more mysterious and more culturally and spiritually confirming. In Thailand it is thought that every sight, sound, touch, taste or smell, every thought and action of the mother has some reaction on the child. She therefore takes every opportunity to associate herself with objects and people which have a positive effect upon the child and with words and actions which imply success giving birth. She does not for instance, talk about or do anything which implies a blocking up, in case her body blocks up and the child cannot get out. She eats lotus buds which have been chanted over by a Buddhist monk so that her body will open up like a lotus flower and she will give birth easily. (Vincent-Priya , pg 26)

While birth maybe experienced by traditional and indigenous women at dimensions beyond the physical, another aspect of the anticipation process, which works to anchor the birth experience while consecrating the event, is the preparation of the birth place. Across the world customs abound to make special the environment of birth. Often huts or shelters are purpose built or rooms adorned with certain herbs, charms and fixtures to provide the necessary support and comfort to birthing women at energetic and practical levels. Smoking the area is a particularly common practice both prior to the birth event, to release or deter any negative influences, and afterwards to sanctify the process having occurred. Nomadic peoples will often travel to a specific site with appropriate resources or the cultural significance to support the birth of their progeny. For many groups the ground on which birth takes place becomes a sacred site which is woven into a complex web of ritual and responsibilities to be revisited by kin time and again as the years and decades go by. Such birth place customs should not be dismissed as quaint habits passed from one generation to the next but recognised as powerful tools for evoking and grounding the energy in anticipation of the birth event while honouring and strengthening the cultural life of traditional peoples.

A woman who follows in the steps of her foremothers as she prepares for childbirth will retreat into the birth environment secure in the knowledge that the correct cultural and spiritual actions have been taken to support her own unique birthing experience. In effect she will not be travelling alone into this vulnerable state but with the blessings and protection of her ancestors, loved ones and the environment itself. While such an approach may seem simplistic to some, the lack of choices and knowledge traditional women have about the physiological and biomedical aspects of childbirth actually makes it a less complicated, more predictable and less fearful event to anticipate. Such women have not grown up being estranged from the experience of pregnancy and childbirth as many women in our western world have. Nor are they pre-occupied with medical procedures, hospital standards, birth plans, risk factors and all the gory details and stories about what could possibly go wrong.

And when things do go ‘wrong’ for the mother or the child, traditional cultures have their own ways and means of explaining and integrating these circumstances so that life for the woman and / or her family is not ever after saturated with guilt, loss or grief. It should be emphasised here at this point, that giving birth is rarely life-threatening or unduly complicated for traditional women living and working in a traditional context. The shocking infant and maternal mortality statistics which are used to question and diminish traditional birth practises largely come as a result of changed circumstances in the lives of traditional peoples. Amoung other factors this includes; the effects of malnutrition and disease, the introduction and reliance on processed foods, drinks and medications, the use of technology to replace hands-on agriculture and domestic work; and in a very direct sense, the removal of women from traditional systems of support at the time of birth (kin, country & culture) and the outlawing of traditional modes of midwifery and / or the tools of the trade.