L48 Anthro 3283 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Anne Fadiman, Umbilical Cord, Prenatal Care
Anne Fadiman Pg. 3-11
• Lia Lee - from Laos, 12 brothers and sisters; belong to Hmong
• Foua – her mom
o Believed moaning or screaming would thwart the birth, labored in silence, with
occasional prayer to ancestors
• Nao Kao – her dad
• dad would cut umbilical cord with heated scissors and tied it with string
• mom would then wash the baby with water from stream
• if couple failed to produce children, would call in a twiv neeb – a shaman who was
believed to have the ability to enter a trance, summon a posse of helpful familiars, ride a
winger horse over the twelve mountains between the earth and the sky, cross an ocean
inhabited by dragons and negotiate for his parents’ health with the spirits who lived in the
realm of the unseen
o might be able to cure infertility by sacrificing a dog, cat, or sheep
• dab – malevolent spirit
• Hmong women of childbearing age would never set foot in a cave; think a dab would eat
and drink flesh and have sex with them, making them sterile
• Women need to pay attention to food cravings, if don’t satisfy them, child might become
defected
• Need to give birth in house or husband’s cousins house or a dab might injure her
• Male placenta had greater honor than female placenta
• Some doctors put placenta of baby in a container, other refused assuming that the moms
would eat them; thought it was disgusting and that it could possibly spread Hepatitis B,
carried by 15% of Hmong refugees in the U.S.
• Foua had no prenatal care, didn’t know how long she was pregnant
• Foua not sure when she was born, sure it October somewhere between 1942- 44
o Invented a birthday to satisfy Americans,
o Hmong accommodated to this
• Foua can’t read, probably did not follow instructions set by MCMC (Merced Community
Medical Center) for discharging Lia
• Foua asked for signature so often, she had mastered the capital letters in her name, FOUA
YANG; resembles a doctor’s signature, looks different every time she writes it
• Did not like how/criticized hospital/American medicine handled Lia’s birth
o Did not get Lia as clean as she would have done it
o Surprised to be offered ice water after birth, since many Hmong believe cold
foods after giving birth make the blood congeal instead of making it flow freely
and a woman who doesn’t observe this taboo will develop itchy skin of diarrhea
in old age
• She only drank hot black water during her stay; her husband brought her a diet especially
prescribed for Hmong women during the 30 days following childbirth – steamed rice and
chicken boiled water
• Lia – Hmong name; conferred in a ceremony called hu plig (soul-calling) – 3rd day of
birth
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