Birth Traditions – Latin America

Societies – be they regional, tribal, or religious – are steeped in cultural traditions or old wives' tales involving anything from how to choose your spouse to how to avoid bad luck. Pregnancy, in particular, has a multitude of traditions surrounding it, which can be extremely diverse or incredibly similar depending on the country or religion.

As healthcare professionals, it is important to understand the impact of these traditions – and their development – when dealing with patients of varied ethnic backgrounds. The following is one of a series of articles that focus on the birth traditions of different regions of the world. In this article, we look at Latin America.

Latin America – the very name conjures an image of lush verdant hills, dense humid air, and spicy flavorful foods. The countries of Latin America are a food lover's paradise with such dishes as empanadas (deep-fried cornmeal turnovers filled with ground meat, cheese, or beans) and curanto (a hearty stew of fish, shellfish, chicken, pork, lamb, beef and potato). So it's not surprising that so many of the birth traditions of the people of Latin America revolve around food.

Traditionally, all the foods of Latin America are considered either "hot" or "cold." And women are limited to specific types of food during pregnancy and immediately following delivery. Because pregnancy is considered to be a "hot" condition, a pregnant woman is restricted to "cold" foods, which will prevent her baby from later developing "hot" illnesses (such as skin rashes). On the other hand, mothers-to-be must satisfy their los antojos (cravings), otherwise the baby could be born with the characteristics of the food the mother was longing for and did not eat. For example, if a woman has an unsatisfied craving for strawberries, her offspring could be born with a strawberry birthmark.

Specific foods are also thought to help in easing delivery. A Guatemalan tradition suggests boiling a purple onion in beer and drinking the mixture. As unappealing as this sounds, it's preferable to what women do in the Yucatan Peninsula – they swallow raw eggs. But if she's able to choke down either of these, once she delivers, she can lie in bed for two hours and drink all the hot chocolate and chamomile tea she wants. Immediately following delivery, however, the new mother must avoid "cold" foods, as they are thought to prevent the uterus from expelling blood and other impurities. Thus begins her la cuarantera – a 40-day period in which mom can rest and bond with her baby. During this time, she will ingest purgantes (home remedies) prepared by her family, which will assist in eliminating "impurities" that, if they were to build up, are thought to move to her head and possibly cause postpartum depression.

Watch for additional articles in our Birth Traditions series, featuring: Asia, Europe, and North America.

Birth Traditions – Latin America

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Lee Ann McGillivray

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