Week 6 - Michelle Nguyen

During the last several weeks we’ve established that the new western world is generally skeptical of shamanism and spiritual healing. We’ve covered how women of color and minorities are made to feel like they need to seek self-care yet also guilty about it. This week’s theme, however, is very relevant to western medicine for mothers. The practices they offer to postpartum thai women remind me a lot of the doula services a lot of American hospitals are beginning to establish. A doula is a woman who assists women through their labor. They are not there to help deliver the baby but just to emotionally (and sometimes physically) support the mother and her significant other. The doula’s job is almost purely for spiritual health as it’s been scientifically proven that mothers – especially new mothers – have easier birth experiences in the presence of a doula. This is ironic to me as it’s very similar to the post-partum thai women yet it’s a practice WESTERNERS are embracing. I’m glad that they are acknowledging the spiritual needs of a new mother who has many new hormones rushing through her body as well as her physical needs. Perhaps the doula services aren’t as spiritual or magical but it seems like a step in the same direction. A similar trend is expressed in the article “Rural Jordanian Mothers’ Beliefs, Knowledge and Practices of Postnatal Care”. Like in the article, Western hospitals are moving on from the old practices of separating the babies and placing them into plastic cribs in a different room and carrying baby formula. Nowadays, hospitals promote immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth for at least four hours and encouraging the babies to breast-feed within an hour of birth. Why? Not out of convenience, but for the purpose of establishing the spiritual connection between mom and child. No more are the days of instantly pumping a patient with medicine. This week’s readings leave me thinking that perhaps western culture isn’t entirely separated from spiritual healing. However, my question is: why are westerners willing to readily accept spiritual types of healing for new mothers? Could this be a sign of sexism and that same theme we saw when women of color and minorities were justified in seeking spiritual help? I’m very supportive of these spiritual practices for mothers and pregnant women but I just hope the ready acceptance of this practice isn’t born out of sexism.

References:
Abuidhail, Jamila. "Rural Jordanian Mothers’ Beliefs, Knowledge and Practices of Postnatal Care." Quality in Primary Care (2014) 22(6): 285-93.

Elter, Prangthip Thasanoh Thasanoh, Holly Powell Kennedy, Catherine A. Chesla, and Susanha Yimyam. "Spiritual Healing Practices Among Rural Postpartum Thai Women." Journal of Transcultural Nursing (2014)

Media:

http://www.health-and-parenting.com/the-importance-of-skin-to-skin-contact/