I have now spent two weeks
traveling to villages in rural Mysore, meeting Traditional Birth Attendants. I realize that I've started to fantasize about actually seeing one of these beautiful, brave women deliver a baby. Piecing together a picture from the stories they tell us, I imagine a woman in labor in a cow shed, or her mother's home. She is surrounded by female family members. Someone is boiling water,
preparing to sterilize a blade and string. The TBA is rubbing oil into the woman's belly, squeezing when the pains come. Obviously, I'm glorifying, there's no epidural anesthesia in a cow shed, and there's very little to do when something goes wrong. This is why we also hear stories of breech babies born still, and mothers suffering fatal hemorrhage. And, as incredible as it would be to see a newborn covered in cow dung, I know this is also a good way to get botulism. Every woman deserves a safe delivery.
traveling to villages in rural Mysore, meeting Traditional Birth Attendants. I realize that I've started to fantasize about actually seeing one of these beautiful, brave women deliver a baby. Piecing together a picture from the stories they tell us, I imagine a woman in labor in a cow shed, or her mother's home. She is surrounded by female family members. Someone is boiling water,
preparing to sterilize a blade and string. The TBA is rubbing oil into the woman's belly, squeezing when the pains come. Obviously, I'm glorifying, there's no epidural anesthesia in a cow shed, and there's very little to do when something goes wrong. This is why we also hear stories of breech babies born still, and mothers suffering fatal hemorrhage. And, as incredible as it would be to see a newborn covered in cow dung, I know this is also a good way to get botulism. Every woman deserves a safe delivery.
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