Chapter - 14

A Child is Born

Germaine Greer

Summary of the essay

The essay “A Child is Born” is controversial. Many people disgrace with some of the ideas expressed by Germaine Greer. For example, she states that it is better for women to give birth in a traditional and die than to use modern techniques and live. The main idea of this essay is that in traditional societies there are many good ways of helping women who give birth and the modern methods of helping pregnant women are not necessarily better than traditional methods.

Another important idea in this essay is that women lose control of what happens to their bodies when they give birth in a hospital surrounded by lots of machines. According to the west and in African countries where modern hospitals have been built.

In traditional societies, there are different methods of having babies. The traditional behaviors make forget her worry to some extent. According to the custom, she is supported by her husband, relatives, and her community. These behaviors make her feel safe. In traditional births, infant and mother mortality is higher and modern technology has helped a lot to reduce such death. In many societies of the eastern communities, women go to their mother in law’s house after their marriage. But they do not become the members of their new family until they got a child. The western people criticize such practices. Many people in the west think that the treatment of women in traditional societies is cruel and wrong. Once a Muslim marriage severely criticized at an international conference but the only Muslim women were present there silently.

In traditional societies, the relationship between the mother and her child is more important than the relationship between the women and her husband. The relationship between children and their grandparents, aunts, and uncles is also important in many societies. Women, who have babies are rewarded. They receive a lot of attention and often the women are allowed to live in her mother’s house when she has a baby. In traditional societies, after the birth of the first child, the women would lose her name and she is called by the child’s name. People in the west find it hateful. But when the married women are given her husband’s surname, they do not object.

In modern societies, western medicine has brought a lot of problems. The doctors are highly respected and people expect too much from them the drug they use is very expensive and new equipment are not always used properly.