Preparation for childbirth in different cultures.
Anthropologically childbirth is an enigma because every woman experiences an identical physiological and biological process, wherever the event takes place: from a hut in the jungle to a modern hospital in the United States. Differences are due to the way that pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period are treated. For most women in developing countries, being a woman means being a mother: a female is not a woman until she has given birth to a child. Therefore during pregnancy she has to follow precise rules and regulations with ritual meanings for her protection and that help her get into the role of a mother. Medicine offers important technological resources for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pathology during pregnancy, but with a lack of attention to emotional support. Modern society must try to give pregnant women the trust in their bodies in order to reach the harmony necessary to give birth "willingly" and "with joy".
Mancino
P
P
Department of Gynaecological Sciences, Perinatology and Puericulture, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
Melluso
J
J
Monti
M
M
Onorati
E
E
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011295:Prenatal Care