A Tibetan Birth

Tibetan childbirth is steeped in Buddhist religion and Tibetan culture.  The belief in reincarnation plays a big part in the views associated with conception.  When a man and woman decide to have a child, they, in a sense, are deciding to provide a place (the mother’s womb) for an ”intermediate being” (a person who has died but has not yet been reborn into another life) to develop and be born into a new life.  At the same time “intermediate beings” are choosing a womb in which to develop and from which to be reborn.  Therefore, the mother must prepare herself for pregnancy through prayer, doing prostrations, and circumambulating the Buddhist temple, in this way purifying/preparing herself mentally and emotionally, as well as her womb for hosting another being (conception).  The family’s role is to provide for the health and well being of the mother through mental, physical, and emotional support.  Sounds like Tibetans understand the impact of environment upon the mother and prenatal development of the child.  During gestation, a mother’s dreams are considered significant and care is taken to interpret them.  When labor begins, a man “who has kept his moral obligations” usually the father blesses a square of butter and feeds it to his laboring wife to ease her labor.  If the labor is lengthy he may also feed his wife small amounts of fish which also has been blessed to give her strength.  The ritual of eating blessed food during labor is so entrenched in Tibetan culture that women are literally conditioned to relax and feel safe when they eat them during labor.  Upon delivery, and with the baby’s first breaths, the symbol of Dhih is “painted” using saffron onto the newborn’s tongue.  This ensures that the child will grow to be wise and articulate, have intelligence, and enjoy a long life of good fortune having enough to eat.

An astrologer reads the placenta.  Afterwards the father carefully wraps the placenta in a clean white cloth and buries it.  Burying the placenta is an act of gratitude and a showing of deep respect for the placenta in regard to the protection and nourishment it gave to the developing child.

The Tibetan symbol for Dhih Seed .  The seed of wisdom.

Farwell, E. & Maiden, A. (1992). The Wisdom Of Tibetan Childbirth. In Context A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture. Retrieved January 7, 2012, from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC31/Farwell.htm