Ari: Post-Partum Myths in Nigeria

Isio wrote an article a couple of weeks ago on childbirth. It was absolutely hilarious and the comments were out of this world. {Click here if you missed it} The post highlighted some practices we engage in, in this part of the world. This post is based on MY experience regarding the relevance, dangers and benefits of these traditions.

Caesarean Section is not God’s plan
If I had a dollar for everyone who has died from rejecting a c-section, I would be a multi-millionaire (scratch that, I would be a Trillionaire, going by the recent exchange rate). A successful childbirth is one in which both mother and child are alive.

As the mid-wife at my gynaecologist’s would say: “there is nothing like normal delivery; there is Vaginal birth, and there is C-Section. Some vaginal births are very abnormal, so my darling preggies if you know your pastor told you C/S is of the devil, better go to your church for your delivery.”

Many people pray for divine intervention when a C-Section has been recommended by the doctor. Er….. did you even stop to think that the C-Section IS the divine intervention?

Sitting on Hot Water
So you’ve had your baby. You are exhausted but happy to be home after the battle you just fought in Labour & Delivery. You go to the bathroom to take a much needed bath or shower (nothing beats a shower in your own bathroom). Just as you are about to step into the tub, your Mother (-in-law) flings the door open and comes in with a bowl of steaming hot water. You tell her in a quite irritated tone that you have a water heater, thank you very much.

“Er …… my daughter, come and sit on this water so that all the blood with come out and your uterus will heal.”

Yes, you heard right.

I liken this custom to sitting on hot water during your period so that everything can come out. Does that make sense?

There is also the issue of the heat melting your episiotomy stitches. Need I say more?

Your uterus contracts naturally, you feel them more while breastfeeding to help expel lochia. Nature has this thing figured out. Stop interfering.

Stomach Massage with Hot Water
After the horrifying steaming of your lady parts, mummy brings another bowl of hot water, infact hotter that the one you sat on and proceeds to massage your tummy with a hot towel. She tells you it’s so that your tummy can shrink fast and so that all the rubbish in your uterus can come out fast. She then proceeds to tie your tummy with the scratchiest, stiffest and visually unappealing Ankara wrapper you’ve ever seen.

My friend complained about her tummy becoming wrinkly when she started the hot water massage. Does it make skin lose elasticity? I don’t know. Instead of massaging with hot water, you can use a hot water bottle. All this brutality is not necessary.

There are people who have washboard flat tummies 2 weeks after childbirth. Do they have two heads? No. A lot of factors determine this. If you had a flat tummy with toned muscles before getting pregnant, your tummy is very likely to snap back faster than others (so, best join #TeamFitFam before even getting pregnant). There is also genetics and some other factors that come into play.

We also have Postpartum Belts or Bands that are more comfortable than using a wrapper. You don’t need anyone to help you put it on. You can also use these belts when going out, or do you intend to go out with a wrapper over your tummy?

Also, tying your tummy or using a postpartum bellyband doesn’t guarantee a flat tummy. It is the first step in helping you achieve one. If you don’t watch your diet or do moderate cardio regularly, you’ll find out that your tummy will start bulging out when you stop using the belt. Your waist line will also develop a mind of its own. Before long, you’ll go from love handles to stacks of tubes and tyres!!!

Drink this Ogi/Akamu/Palmie so that your breasts will be full
Why do I have to drink all this? It’s bad enough that your diet has been altered, but to add pap to this boring diet is just cruel. If I want to take alcohol, I definitely won’t be ordering palm wine; palm wine is very different from Orijin/Baileys/Savannah. No, I don’t want Palwine.

You see, our bodies are amazing. Your body will naturally produce milk in the quantities your baby needs, especially if you feed on demand. So if your child is a marathon sucker, your milk production will increase to suit his needs. If your child doesn’t eat much, milk supply will reduce.

It is also very important that babies get Hind Milk, which comes out after at least 10 minutes of sucking. The initial milk – Fore Milk is quite watery and doesn’t have as much fat as the hind milk. When your breasts are engorged, baby will likely get more watery foremilk. Also note that unless baby’s appetite matches your milk production, milk production will still eventually reduce. So after 1 or 2 days of engorged breasts, in which baby is not emptying your breasts, milk production will reduce.

I also noticed that any hot drink will do. A cup of hot milk, chocolate or water did the trick for me. I was able to express milk also till baby was 6 months old.

Don’t Take Cold Drinks
Mummy, the coolness of my drink will not turn my breast milk to ice-cream. Let me take my cold water in peace.

Many people tell you to avoid cold drinks immediately they find out you are pregnant. I do not entertain such suggestions. I nod that I have heard and proceed to take a super chilled drink in the person’s presence. Pregnancy is like an exothermic reaction. You are just HOT! Your partner will be shivering under the duvet because your room is colder that Antarctica, but you proceed to get the standing fan from the sitting room because the A/C is just not cool enough. Yup. Then imagine someone telling you to take only ordinary water.

I remember after I had my baby, I didn’t have appetite. I would take one spoon of rice or oats and lose interest. A nurse asked me what I wanted to eat as she understands hospital food can be quite annoying. I told her I wanted cold garri water (no, I’m not razz; only true garri lovers will appreciate this request). She smiled and called the kitchen to bring me some garri and cold water. I love that nurse to bits. I could have stayed at the hospital forever because of her. I had every subsequent meal with garri water.

So, there you have it. Did you go through any of the above ordeals? Did you find them beneficial or not? In hindsight, would you go through them again? Share your experiences in the comments section.

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Photowitch