Southeast Asian folklore about pregnancy and parturition.

Abstract

Southeast Asian refugees immigrating to the United States bring many traditional beliefs about pregnancy and childbearing to their new home. Harmony with nature, dualistic concepts of disease, and pathogenetic metaphor are important ingredients of indigenous health practices. Pregnant and postpartum women must be protected against "wind," lost of "heat," and poisons. Because these notions and the behaviors used to carry them out may seem bizarre to unsuspecting Western-trained health care personnel, it is important for Westerners to understand the basis for these beliefs.