Pregnancy and Labour

Cultural Differences in Baby Care: Part 1, Pregnancy and Labour
By Roy Thomsitt

One of the many fascinating aspects of moving from one country to another is the difference in attitudes to baby care. In my case, I had two children in England, where I come from, and now have a two year old born in the Philippines, where I now live. I have therefore had plenty of opportunity to observe not just how Filipinos bring up their children, but how they react to seeing the way my daughter is being raised. It also enables me to compare and contrast the two approaches to baby care.

I think it is fair to say that, the world over, people love babies. However, there are degrees, and the Filipino people, at least on the surface, love babies a lot more than the English. That is, if you judge “love” by the amount of attention the baby may be given, and how she is welcomed and treated wherever she goes. In fact, the adoration of babies here starts before birth; even before conception. When I first introduced my wife-to-be to our landlady, once she had taken hold of her hand and kissed her on the cheek, she said: “You two will have such beautiful children.” That conversation would not have taken place in England.

There are many differences in the way babies are cared for in the Philippines, and the mothers during pregnancy and labour. The countries are at a very different level of development, so health care is not of the same standard in the Philippines. To make things worse for ordinary Filipinos, who are mostly very poor, there is a high death rate amongst babies and mothers during birth.