Editing Childbirth (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Lurestan Fibula (4484325444).jpg|thumbnail|A [[Luristan bronze]] [[Fibula (brooch)|fibula]] showing a woman giving birth between two [[antelopes]], ornamented with [[flowers]]. From Iran, 1000 to 650 BC, at the [[Louvre museum]].]]

[[File:Miniature Naissance Louis VIII.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Medieval woman, having given birth, enjoying her [[lying-in]] ([[postpartum confinement]]). France, 14th century.]]Some communities rely heavily on religion for their birthing practices. It is believed that if certain acts are carried out, then it will allow the child for a healthier and happier future. One example of this is the belief in the [[Ch'illiwani|Chillihuani]] that if a knife or scissors are used for cutting the [[umbilical cord]], it will cause for the child to go through clothes very quickly. To prevent this, a jagged ceramic tile is used to cut the umbilical cord.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Inge |first=Bolin |title=Growing up in a culture of respect child rearing in highland Peru |date=2006 |publisher=University of Texas Press |oclc=748863692 |name-list-style=vanc}}{{page needed|date=October 2019}}</ref>

Comfort and proximity to extended family and social support systems may be a childbirth priority of many communities in developing countries, such as the Chillihuani in Peru and the Mayan town of San Pedro La Laguna.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Barbara |first=Rogoff |title=Developing destinies: a Mayan midwife and town |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-531990-3 |oclc=779676136 |name-list-style=vanc}}{{page needed|date=October 2019}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> Home births can help women in these cultures feel more comfortable as they are in their own home with their family around them helping out in different ways.<ref name=":6" /> Traditionally, it has been rare in these cultures for the mother to lie down during childbirth, opting instead for standing, kneeling, or walking around prior to and during birthing.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":6" />

In contemporary Mayan societies, ceremonial gifts are presented to the mother throughout pregnancy and childbirth to help her into the beginning of her child's life.<ref name=":6" /> [[Maya peoples#Guatemala|Maya]] women who work in agricultural fields of some rural communities will usually continue to work in a similar function to how they normally would throughout pregnancy, in some cases working until labour begins.<ref name=":6" />

=== Placentophagy ===
In some cultures the placenta may be consumed as a nutritional boost, but it may also be seen as a special part of birth and eaten by the newborn's family ceremonially.<ref>{{cite book |title=Having a Great Birth in Australia: Twenty Stories of Triumph, Power, Love and Delight from the Women and Men who Brought New Life Into the World |title-link=Having a Great Birth in Australia |publisher=[[Australian College of Midwives]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-9751674-3-4 |editor-link=David Vernon (writer) |veditors=Vernon DM |location=Canberra, Australia |page=56}}</ref> In the developed world the placenta may be eaten believing that it reduces postpartum bleeding, increases milk supply, provides micronutrients such as iron, and improves mood and boosts energy.  The CDC advises against this practice, saying it has not been shown to promote health but has been shown to possibly transmit disease organisms that were passed from the placenta into the mother's breastmilk and then infecting the baby.<ref>{{cite web |title=Labor and delivery, postpartum care |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/expert-answers/eating-the-placenta/faq-20380880 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629155636/https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/expert-answers/eating-the-placenta/faq-20380880 |archive-date=29 June 2022 |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=Mayo Clinic}}</ref>

===Variation===
Cultural values, assumptions, and practices of pregnancy and childbirth vary across cultures and time.

See;
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* [[Childbirth in Benin]]
* [[Childbirth in China]]
* [[Childbirth in Ghana]]
* [[Childbirth in Haiti]]
* [[Childbirth in India]]
* [[Childbirth in Iraq]]
* [[Childbirth in Japan]]
* [[Childbirth in Mexico]]
* [[Childbirth in Nepal]]
* [[Childbirth in Sri Lanka]]
* [[Childbirth in Thailand]]
* [[Childbirth in Trinidad and Tobago]]
* [[Childbirth in Zambia]]
}}