A Glimpse into Traditional Efe Pygmy Birth

Jean Pierre Hallet spent years with the Efe Pygmies and witnessed their lifestyle, including their traditions in birth. Here is an excerpt.

This text is an excerpt from the following page: www.primal-page.com/pygmy.htm

Hallet described Pygmy labor as being very short, natural, and easy, even for afirst-time mother. And this is in spite of the fact that Pygmy babies are,proportionally, the biggest babies in the world. For example an 80-pound Pygmymother typically gives birth to an eight-pound baby, about one-tenth of her bodyweight. This would compare to a 130-pound woman birthing a 13-pound baby.

When the mother's membranes rupture, she notifies her two midwives, who thenwalk with her to the river, one on either side. "At the time of the pain,"Hallet said, "she will walk and sing, sing and be joyous."

Once at the river, the pregnant woman squats on a flat rock. The midwives holdher on each side, and breath deeply with her in what Hallet referred to as "atremendous feeling on oneness." When they feel the time has come, the women holdtheir breath. "They pause together," said Hallet, "and then you see the babycoming out."

One of the midwives briefly holds the baby upside down, washes the upper part ofthe body to make sure the baby is breathing well, and then returns the child tothe mother for nursing. The other midwife works her teeth down the umbilicalcord until she finds the narrow part, a few inches from the infant's abdomen."This is the place where, if a baby were dropped from the womb of a standingmother, the weight of the child would be enough to break that cord at thatpoint," said Hallet. The midwife bites this narrow part very slowly, and thengently squeezes the cord with her fingers. There is usually very littlebleeding.

To celebrate the birth of her child, Hallet noted, a mother will sing this song:

My heart is so joyous,
My heart flies in singing,
Under the trees of the forest,
The forest, our home, our mother.

In my net I have caught
A little bird,
A very little bird,
And my heart is caughtIn the net with my little bird.

During the birth, the father stays away. Birth is considered to be women'sbusiness. After birth, when the mother and baby have returned to their leafy,dome hut, the father comes to them and asks permission to enter. Then the fathermight clap his hands and thank his wife for their very wanted child.

Newborn Care

According to Hallet, there is no bonding ritual, but there is a bond — "like afruit to its branch" — a physical attachment for the first year or so. Duringthis year, the baby is "never separated from the mother." In Hallet's view, thisconstant contact is one reason why Pygmy infants rarely cry. Pygmy babies appearto feel good. "They are satisfied in all of their requirements," he stated. Onthe rare occasion when a baby does cry, it is only for a moment, because thebaby's need is immediately taken care of. Often this means nursing, whichsatisfies the baby's necessity for close contact and attention, as well as fornourishment.

Hallet remarked that the baby is usually carried in front, although sometimes onthe back. In either position, Pygmies feel it is essential to maintainskin-to-skin contact, with the child naked against the mother's bare skin. Ifclothing is needed for warmth, the mother wraps a clothe around both herself andher child, not between them. This constant skin contact continues for at leastthe first six months. Thereafter, the mother continues to provide plenty oftouching as well as baby-led nursing
....
The father takes great interest in his baby. He plays, holds and hugs the childas much as the mother does. Men and women equally manifest love and care. Infact, fathers will sometimes hold their babies for very long periods of time.Hallet recalled, "The most beautiful time for a father is when he holds his babyfor the very first time. He will hold his newborn with great . . . tenderness.And usually he will cry, because he is so touched by his baby."