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 laboring 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 minimized. 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 prenatal care as they are worried about having to endure vaginal examinations as a routine part of that care.

Hmong women are particularly concerned about cesarean 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 recognize his new status as a father.

Childbirth International and cultural diversity

Childbirth International is a truly diverse international training organization. With students in 65 countries, from every corner of the globe, we celebrate the differences, similarities and uniqueness of each culture, religion and race.

We believe that with knowledge of different cultural groups, particularly in the field of pregnancy, childbirth and parenting, we can all learn from each other and eliminate intolerance and prejudice.

In Culture Vulture we seek to explore different birthing practices and beliefs from around the world, opening up our understanding and bringing the rest of the world a little closer.

Childbirth International courses explore cultural differences and different value systems, enabling students to become more aware of the rich variety of women and families that they will be working with.

For more information on training with Childbirth International, take a look at our website at www.childbirthinternational.com, or contact us.

Childbirth International offers training programs for Birth Doulas, Postpartum Doulas, Childbirth Educators and Breastfeeding Counselors. In June 2009 we introduced a business course for birth professionals to help you build and grow your business.

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Last Updated: November 5 2007