ABSTRACT
When a child is about to be born, all the men, unmarried girls, and children are sent away, or, if the house has many rooms, they may merely be banished to some of the empty rooms and told to keep quiet. Some of the neighbor women may be asked to help, but, unless specifically invited, guests and neighbors are not welcome. The necessary articles for the confinement are made ready in the mother’s room and the midwife is called. She is usually one of the old women of the neighborhood whose only qualification is the fact that she has delivered other babies; she may also be a witch doctor, and this is considered an added recommendation. In some poor families, the husband assists at the confinement without the aid of a midwife. The midwife is not held responsible for the safety of the mother or the child and receives no specific fee, but is rewarded at the discretion of the family.
