Due to the pain and suffering of labor and the possibility of life-threatening
complications, childbirth is considered a time of acute physiological
stress for both the mother and the infant and a time of psychological stress
for the mother, family, and community. As the timing of the birth event is
relatively predictable, all cultures have responded to the risk of birth by
developing methods of caring for the pregnant and parturient woman. All
cultures have allocated the specialist role of the management of labor to the
traditional birth attendant (TBA). Many practices have developed to minimize
the risks to the mother and the infant. Similarly, perinatal explanatory
beliefs have developed to reduce the psychological stress of childbirth. These
beliefs are congruent with the broader cultural context (Mead & Newton,
1967; Wellin, 1978).
In spite of the interest in traditional birth practices over the past
decade, the majority of existing research consists of descriptive ethnographic
accounts of the birthing process (e.g., Kay, 1982; MacCormack, 1982). Few
researchers have conducted comparative studies and attempted theoretical
explanations for birthing practices. This study, examining childbirth in Fiji,
compares and contrasts the culturally specifi c methods used during childbirth
to control pain and to reduce the risk of injury to the mother and the
infant and examines the maternal response to pain.