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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



inside was foam lii<;e the boiling turpentine. 

 By givijig the mother medicines the delivery 

 succeeded, but the child's skin broke easily and 

 inside was foam. The more bizarre aspects of 

 this account may be discounted, but some 

 factual basis probably existed. 



Another case reported was a child born with 

 the "head all hollow." Yet another had eyes 

 "as though gouged out with a knife" and only 

 the rudiments of a nose. Both children were 

 born dead. The phenomena were attributed to 

 an eclipse. Few cases occur in which the 

 mother has died without delivery being accom- 

 plished, but still-births are more frequent. 

 Strangling with the cord is said to occur in 

 some cases. Birth of children with clubfoot 

 (said to be caused by the mother not taking 

 care of herself) and blind children (caused by 

 God's will) are both known. No hunchbacks 

 were reported. One other case where the 

 child's arm emerged first was reported ; the 

 child died but the mother lived. Animal births 

 are mentioned also. Only one case accom- 

 panied by severe hemorrhage was reported. 



Children born in May are said to be mis- 

 chievous and courageous, those born in Febru- 

 ary to be half crazy. 



After the birth of the child the mother stays 

 in bed from 8 to 15 days. At the conclusion 

 of this time she bathes and gets up, but remains 

 under food taboos and spends some time reclin- 

 ing during the next 5 days, when she bathes 

 again and may go out of the house. The mid- 

 wife visits the mother daily until she gets out of 

 bed, massaging her. When the mother can 

 walk, she begins to do small tasks. Full re- 

 sumption of tasks is not undertaken until the 

 termination of the food restrictions, about 40 

 days after birth. Some women do not go out 

 of the house until 3 weeks have passed. After 

 the mother has gotten out of bed, the midwife 

 may still massage her with unguents, either 

 coconut oil or white lily. During the period 

 the mother should not be left alone, so she will 

 not be frightened or visited by an evil spirit. 

 Usually the mother is cared for after birth by 

 the husband's mother, by her own mother, or 

 some female relative. Wealthier families, 

 though, may hire someone to assist. 



One case of what was probably a postpartur- 

 ient infection was recorded. The midwife 



bathed the infected parts with yerba de cancer. 

 The entire herb was boiled and then hydrogen 

 peroxide was added to the brew. Two treat- 

 ments daily for 2 months finally cured the 

 patient. 



Husband and wife do not resume sexual 

 relations until at least 35 days after the birth; 

 in most cases the period is 40 days. Husbands 

 are sometimes said to behave badly in con- 

 nection with the first pregnancy; they have 

 "whims" and "weariness," probably a polite 

 way of saying that they resent the loss of 

 sexual privileges and the lessened attentions of 

 their wives. Some go with other women. 



Shortly after the delivery the mother is given 

 her first food. This may be chocolate, milk, 

 and a bit of bread. Some midwives give the 

 mother rafino or coffee but others prefer white 

 atole "because it strengthens the blood." A 

 chicken may be killed the same day and put on 

 to cook to make broth to be served to the mother 

 the following day. Oatmeal is also a favorite 

 food for the mother in the early days. Broth 

 from beef is prohibited but broth from mutton 

 is permitted during the first week. The second 

 week, additional foods may be taken, but noth- 

 ing "cold." Tortillas may be eaten after the 

 second day. In general, pork, chile, fish, and 

 beans are forbidden for from 3 weeks to 40 

 days. Fruit and vegetable greens must be 

 eaten sparingly in the latter part of the period, 

 not at all in the early part. There is no re- 

 striction on salt. Beef is apparently forbidden 

 only in the first week ; cheese is mentioned as a 

 permitted food by some. In some cases the 

 mother is fed the atole known as kagwash 

 kamata for several days after birth. In view 

 of the general agreement that chile is forbid- 

 den, probably this ingredient is left out when 

 the atole is made for mothers. According to 

 some, the midwife stays on the same diet as 

 the mother until the time of the mother's 

 first bath. 



Fathers have virtually no restrictions. The 

 only one discovered is that he should not kill 

 poisonous snakes. If he does, the newborn 

 infant may have bloody discharges from nose 

 and mouth. The cure is to catch a rat, remove 

 the intestines, add to them some rosas de 

 castiUa and a few grains of tequisqvite and 

 place on the child's stomach. 



