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Around babies

Ethnopaediatrics opens an altogether new world of how we bring up our children

SAFE AND SECURE Western parenting styles have little to do with what is `natural' for children PHOTO: PARTH SANYAL

That the way we raise our children strongly influences their later childhood and adult behaviour is a well-accepted fact. But what about parenting as a complex mixture of culture and biology? Looking at infants "from an evolutionarily informed perspective" is a whole new science called ethnopaediatrics that claims to help us discover what is truly the best way to parent our babies.

It was in late 1995, in Atlanta, Georgia, in a series of papers introduced by anthropologist Carol Worthman of Emory University, this group of paediatricians, child development researchers and anthropologists announced this new branch of research that was soon being hailed as "timely, ground-breaking and critically important". Their aim was to initiate the study of parents and infants across cultures and to explore the way different styles of care taking affect the well-being of infants through "an evolutionary and cross-cultural view of human infancy coupled with real biological data that can be used to understand truly what is best for infants".

The western idea

One of the most startling research findings of ethnopaediatrics so far is the fact that western parenting styles have little to do with what is "natural" for babies. In fact, a biologically healthy child will protest at being forced to sleep alone in a separate room, being fed at only specific intervals, and being left to cry (in the effort not to spoil the child). And according to those involved in this emerging field, other cultures have a great deal to teach westerners about pregnancy, birth and babies.

For instance, pregnancy is seen in many parts of the developing world as a transitional stage in life, a time of transformation. Many cultures have rituals that encourage pregnant women to take a step back from everyday life and spend some time focussing on their newfound maternal status.

Fathers have an important role to play in the birth. In some cultures, they stand guard near the birthing hut, praying for a healthy outcome for both mother and baby; in others, they catch their own babies.

The early hours after the birth are a special time for both mother and baby. Mbuti pygmy women in Zaire remain secluded with the baby for three days after the birth. In many other cultures, new parents are routinely given time to "babymoon" with the new arrival before they're expected to assume their usual responsibilities.

Women who are about to give birth, in many parts of the world, return to their parents' home so that they can be mothered by their own mothers during the early weeks after the birth. A new mother is massaged with healing oils and pastes that are believed to help her body recover from the rigours of giving birth and make her feel nurtured.

Although human infants are biologically similar in their needs (for food, sleep, and emotional attachment), parents and cultures can unwittingly twist those needs to their own ends. For example, American mothers — aiming to bring up smart, successful children in a society that rewards independence and self-reliance — feel compelled to talk to their babies incessantly.

In contrast, African Gusii mothers rarely speak to their babies, believing that verbal stimulation will encourage self-centredness, an unwanted characteristic in a family-oriented economy where sharing and belonging are paramount. In the West, a wakeful baby is considered developmentally behind. But to ethnopaediatricians who study sleep patterns, wakefulness is natural, and the western pattern of sleeping alone is, at any age, contrary to human biology and evolution. As cultural anthropologist, Meredith Small, says in Our Babies, Ourselves: "Every adult carries a suitcase of personal and cultural baggage that determines how he or she will parent... Each believes he or she has the correct answer, the appropriate approach for bringing up a healthy and happy child. What no one sees are the personal and cultural influences that have brought them to their opinions."

In a sense, ethnopaediatrics, while breaking through traditional and accepted notions of childcare, presents options for parental strategies that might be more in tune with evolved infant biology. May it bring about healthier, happier infants and more confident parents!

SHOBHA MENON

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