Differences Between Dais and Doctors

Here we see how a dai will use her feet against the mother’s hip bones allowing her to push more effectively. Dais use their whole bodies. Doctors only use their hands.

Here we see how a dai will use her feet against the mother’s hip bones allowing her to push more effectively. This is a simulation as the team was learning from the dais. Doctors would consider feet dirty and never use them like this. Credit  goes to Jeeva Project and particularly Sandhya Gautam

Dais and Doctors

Dais and Doctors

I was visiting this mom, who had a caesarean section. According to her doula, the baby might have been in the wrong position. (She is doing fine now)

I knew that dais would re-position the baby using their hands. Moving them back and forth on the mother’s tummy. This was something the obstetricians would never do. So I began to think about things that obstetricians never do, but dais do. I asked my birth buddy friends to generate questions about  things that doctors don’t do and dais or traditional Indian midwives do.

A dai explaining how she handles (literally with hands) labour

Here are a few of their questions that I will go into in later posts.

1. The mom hasn’t gone into labour and is way past her due date - say 41/42 weeks. I know that the dais do not estimate due date as doctors but what would be the signs to say that this baby needs to come soon and how would she aid the start of labour for the mom.

2. If the mom's water breaks and has been leaking for hours/days with no contractions. What would the dai do? How long would they wait and when and what would be the ways to support that labour.

3. If the water is greenish/brownish (baby has passes meconium in the womb) - what would be the response and the actions if any.

Healing the vagina after the birth

A woman healing herself with fire post-birth from a sculpture in Konark at Puri in Orissa (thanks to Stella Dupuis). We at Jeeva Research Project found that women still used fire as fumigation post birth. One dai or traditional midwife reported the following.

In the fire we toss dry neem leaves, garlic peels, ajwain (carom seeds), raagi (millet). She should spread her sari wide, with her legs apart with the fire placed between them. The smoke and heat should go into the lower part of her body. It relieves pain and if she takes the warmth to her legs, hand and face--then her face will not swell and she will not catch cold. (Husainabi from Karnataka)

Man caring for woman/mother

Thanks Stella, for this photo from Madurai, of a nurturing man and a pregnant (birthing?) woman.