Can he be Born on Tuesday, Doctor?: Traditional and Changed Beliefs and Practices Related to Birth among Thai Women in Australia

Chapter 14: "Can he be Born on Tuesday, Doctor?": Traditional and Changed Beliefs and Practices Related to Birth among Thai Women in Australia


The act of giving birth to a child is never simply a physiological act but rather a performance defined by and enacted within a cultural context. How a woman anticipates childbirth and how it will be seen by her and others are the products of cultural ideology, norms, and expectations surrounding the birth event (Romalis, 1981:6, authors' emphasis)

As Romalis argued about childbirth in the United States, so childbirth in Thai society exists within the context of Thai culture. In the past and in some areas nowadays, childbirth occurs mainly at the woman's home with the assistance of a traditional birth attendant. Women are instructed to observe traditional practices from pregnancy to confinement. In a more modern time, however, childbirth takes place within highly technological surroundings, such as hospitals, where the woman has to rely on the expertise of scientifically trained health professionals. Although Thai women give birth in hospitals, many of them still practice traditional customs. These cultural practices act as a "rite of passage" (Van Gennep, 1960). For some Thai women, however, these practices are no longer relevant because of changes in social and living situations.

Following Romalis's framework, in this chapter, birth experiences of Thai women who are now living in Melbourne are discussed. The chapter focuses on the women's experiences of childbirth in the Thai context and their changed beliefs and practices after migration. The aims of this chapter are to provide an understanding of beliefs and behaviours related to birth in the home country and in a new cultural context, as explained by the Thai women, and to derive implications for culturally sensitive health services for immigrant women in a new homeland.


Speakers/ Authors:

CHARIN NAKSOOK
Charin was born in central Thailand and graduated from Chulalongkorn University. She worked with the Education Ministry in Thailand and UNESCO Bangkok before coming to Australia in 1989 under the Monash Graduate Scholarship Program. She gained her PhD from Monash University in 1994. With a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from La Trobe University, Charin studied cultural practices and childbirth among Thai woman in Australia. Her other work included a cultural awareness research and training guide for health professionals on sexual and reproductive health of women from non- English-speaking backgrounds. This project was undertaken in conjunction with Women in Industry and Community Health Inc (WICH). At present she is working on a research project led by Dr Pranee Liamputtong Rice on childbirth and the health of Southeast Asian women.

PRANEE LIAMPUTTONG RICE
Pranee was born in a small Malay town in the south of Thailand. She received her undergraduate and master's degrees from a Thai university. Pranee came to Australia to undertake her doctoral degree at Monash University in 1982. She has two daughters. Pranee is Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Australia. Previously she taught in the La Trobe School of Sociology and Anthropology. Her particular interests are in issues related to cultural and social influences on childbearing, childrearing and women's reproductive health. She has published several books and papers in these areas. Three of her books have been used widely in the health area: My 40 Days: A Cross-cultural Resource Book for Health Care Professionals in Birthing Services (1993); Asian Mothers, Australian Birth (editor, 1994); and Maternity and Reproductive Health in Asian Societies (editor, with Lenore Manderson, 1996). Her most recent books are Qualitative Research Methods: A Health Focus (with Douglas Ezzy, in press) and Living in a New Country: Understanding Migrants' Health (editor, in press).

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