A fascinating read. This reminded me when my wife had our child. In her culture there are many rituals (dietary, rubs, wraps, treatments, caring for the woman, child, etc) that were very foreign to me, but looking back were amazing and really underscored the value of human life. Here in America, we over-medicalize the child bearing experience. Basically, a bunch of hospital tests leading up to delivery, then delivery, then care for the baby for a couple weeks, then back to work while you pay someone to raise your child...seriously fucked up if you ask me. The slower, more thoughtful, traditional methods seem so much more healthy and human.