Western vs. Inuit Childbirth Practices

The assignment for this week in my Early Childhood Development class is to provide a reflection on a personal birthing experience and share information on childbirth in another culture.  It is hard to believe that the most recent birthing experience for me was on February 19, 1981.  My experiences with the Inuit culture in Alaska have inspired me to learn more about the ‘traditional’ birthing experiences of the Inuit women.

 

From the day I found out I was pregnant I knew my baby would be born in a hospital.  At the age of 21-years-old, I did not know I had alternate ways to give birth.  I was very lucky in that I had the best prenatal care offered in the state of Montana.  As with many new moms across our great American lands, I had mixed emotions and had many questions about pregnancy and the upcoming birth; will I go full term?, will caffeine hurt my baby?, will my baby be healthy?, will I need an epidural during the childbirth?.  From the minute I found out I was pregnant the joy I felt in my heart is beyond words; these feelings of joy were overriding my fears. After nine months of taking extra care of my body and my baby, the time finally arrived!  At about 2:00 pm on February 18, 1981 I began to feel short intermittent labor pains. At a little after midnight on February 19, 1981 I went to the hospital as I was fearful if I waited much longer the baby would be born in the living room of our home with a father whose high blood pressure would not allow him to be of good assistance. My husband had the support of his mom and step dad while I was giving birth.  At 3:10 pm a beautiful, healthy, 6 pound 4 ounce, baby girl was brought into this world.  She was greeted by mom, dad, grandma and grandpa.  I was home the next day with our beautiful bundle where family and friends greeted us with balloons and baby gifts.

While I was working in rural Alaska several of my colleagues would have to fly from their home village to a hospital in Nome or Anchorage two to four weeks before they were to give birth.  Since federal funds were used to transport and pay for the medical expenses of having the baby, many women could not afford to bring family members with them; therefore not having a support network of family to help them during the last weeks of pregnancy and through the childbirth experience.  Many Inuit women were also leaving other children behind to be taken care of by dads, grandparents, and aunties.  This type of childbirth is a very stressful experience for the entire family including the village population where family and friends live. 

Having a midwife was not an option in my six years of living in rural Alaska which was the practice before Western practices were adopted with funding from the government.  There are now programs in place to train midwifes so Inuit families can be together when a new baby is born.  In the article “The Evolution of Inuit Women’s Birthing Practices in Northern Canada”, Purdon provides an example of how an Inuit community in Canada is working to train midwives, “The women of the North are now speaking out about alternatives to the government standard on birthing in the North. A traditional midwifery program has been brought to Nunavut Arctic College, and these first steps have begun to weaken the strong-hold the government has on women’s birthing practices. There seems to be a shift in control back to the women who this affects and they are in turn, taking this control and creating healthier, more appropriate experiences for women” (2008). 

We know the stress a pregnant mom feels in her life can have a negative effect on the baby in the womb.  Eliminating the stressor of leaving their home villages to have a baby will ultimately result in healthy, happier infants and their families.

Reference:  Purdon, H. (2008, February).  The Health e-Zine.  The evolution of Inuit's women's birthing practices in northern Canada.