A Child Is Born

A Child Is Born
                                                                                      -Germaine Greer

Germaine Greer, an Australian writer, talks about the differences in traditional society of the East and the modern society of the West in matters of pregnancy, child birth and child bearing.

There are many ways of managing childbirth in the traditional societies. All of the members in the family are devoted in taking care of the pregnant woman, so that she is free from any psychic burden. Besides, various religious beliefs, social taboos and prohibitions help to reduce the anxiety of the pregnant woman. But in the Western society, the mother has to take all responsibility in her shoulder, so she is suffered from mental disturbance.

The rate of child mortality is high in the traditional society, but they are keeping their traditional values with them. In the traditional society, the whole family waits new baby and all the family members celebrates the arrival with joy. There is a good feast in the house, and the girls dance and sing until late night. The mother in traditional society loses her name and is called after the name of her first baby. The Westerners find this tradition to be savage and takes as the domination upon the women. But the Westerners themselves don’t feel any shame when they lose their surname after their marriage.

In the traditional society, the child helps to develop a good relationship among the members of the family. Each member of the family does have different duties and helps each other to provide good care to the children. Someone in the family takes charge to prepare food while the other washes the clothes, and the other entertains the children. It seems that the children have better relationship with their uncles and aunts than with their own parents.

The woman in the family is highly respected when she gives birth to a child in the traditional society. The woman feels satisfied because she is able to fulfill the will of the family. By giving birth to the child, she isn’t only giving prestige to the family, but also earning favors of the family members. A woman is cared with much attention during her pregnancy period & everyone is ready to satisfy her. In the traditional society, the woman goes to her mother’s house in the time of giving birth to the child, and everyone is ready to satisfy her.

The Western medicine has brought problems in the traditional society. The medicines are highly expensive and the hospitals can’t be established without foreign aid. The doctors and the nurses cannot understand the mothers properly and their woes because they are unable to understand the language of the mothers.

Though the West treats the Eastern society severely being savage, the women in such society don’t feel alone during her pregnancy period. The help of family members help to reduce her anxieties but in the Western society, the mother has to take the whole responsibility on her shoulders. The writer concludes, if the Western technologies were not introduced in such traditional societies, the growth of population would be automatically controlled.