Hmong women traditionally give birth at home, with their mother and
mother-in-law present. They birth in upright positions, often standing or
squatting in the doorway of the bedroom. An older village woman who has
experience of childbirth may also assist a labouring mother. She is not viewed as
a traditional midwife and the Hmong language has no word to describe her role.
Her husband may also be present and helps with cutting the umbilical cord and
washing the baby after the birth.
The Hmong believe that the head is where the soul is housed, and contact with a
baby's head is minimised. The baby's head should not be in contact with the
ground.
The baby's placenta is highly respected, and is buried inside the family home.
It is believed that at death, a person returns to their place of birth and
collects their placenta, referred to as their "black jacket". They then carry
this into the afterlife as a mark of humility. When a Hmong woman is living in a
high rise apartment and birthing in a hospital it can cause the family great
distress as they do not know what will happen to the baby's placenta.
Hmong women believe that nobody other than their husband should see their
genitals, and are particularly uncomfortable with vaginal examinations. This
often prevents Hmong women in Western countries from seeking early antenatal care
as they are worried about having to endure vaginal examinations as a routine
part of that care.
Hmong women are particularly concerned about caesarean birth. They believe that
each person has three souls called the "plig". Provided these three souls are
within the body, the person is healthy. A soul may temporarily leave a body but
usually finds its way back with no incident. However, when unconscious, a soul
may leave the body and not return. this results in illness and requires a shaman
to perform a special ceremony where he calls the soul to return. In order to
lock the three souls into the body of a newborn, a silver necklace is placed
around their neck, preferably before the cord is cut. If the family cannot
afford silver, a white cord may be used instead.
Baby's born in the caul (inside the amniotic sac) are thought to be particularly
lucky as this is an indication that they lived a previous life as a king and the
child is now born wearing the cloth from that previous life. The Hmong believe
the child will live a life of prosperity and good health. If a child is born in
the caul, the caul is dried and kept, and passed on to the child when they are
older. The "cloth" will then be given back to the person when they die to ensure
they are reborn again to live a prosperous life.
Like many Asian cultures, the Hmong avoid giving too much praise to a child for
fear of this attracting evil spirits and harming the child. They will often
greet their child with comments about how ugly they are are in order to ensure
the spirits awareness is not raised and their child will be protected.
Women in Hmong society practice a period of 30 days of confinement where they
are seen as weak and vulnerable, needing special attention. They are not
required to carry out any heavy work and will be kept warm and provided with
special foods. They will not wash (with the exception of a sponge bath) during
this time to prevent their hair from falling out or becoming chilled. They may
use a steam bath where they sit beside a hot pot of water that has had special
herbs added, and allow themselves to sweat to remove any impurities from their
body. Generally their diet will be restricted to hot rice and chicken soup with
herbs added, although they may also eat eggs, pork and fish. Hmong women in
Western society may find their hospital stay difficult as they are not able to
eat the food on the hospital menu and may have family bring in specially
prepared food for them.
Three days after the birth a Hmong child is given his or her name. The father
may also be given a new name to recognise his new status as a father.
