Old crafts - midwife

Children have always been born, and it was no different when Hetény was engulfed in flames on April 22, 1882, because Gyula Sárai Sr. wanted to see the light of day on that very day. There was nothing to do, the midwife had to deliver the baby on the lakeshore, among the burning houses. ; This little story launched Franciska Androvics' research, and this is how the work on birth and the associated Hetény customs was born. ; The report was prepared by Gizella Erneczné Csintalan, a midwife (born 1927) and her great-grandmother Ilona Kocsis (born 1927), who loved to talk about childbirth, childbirth and baptismal customs. ; ; But who were those midwives? ; ; A midwife is a woman who assists in childbirth and cares for a woman in labor and her newborn. A midwife could be a trained midwife, or a so-called certified midwife or a peasant midwife. In the last century, trained midwives completed their preliminary studies at the Midwifery Training Institute for a period ranging from 4 months to 2 years. From 1902, they studied from an official textbook. The so-called certified midwives attended a 4–6-week course in a hospital department in a county and received their license from the district chief physician, usually for the territory of a village. Peasant midwives acquired their knowledge without qualifications, through the transmission of experience. The midwife was often attributed a witchlike role in folk beliefs, as someone who casts evil eye, can harm the mother and the newborn, but can also heal. ; The midwife's general duties were as follows: she prepared the birth, made the bed for the woman in labor, prepared the place of birth and the necessary tools and objects, washed the child and the crib after the birth, accompanied him to the crib, and then usually went to ask the godmother. For a certain period of time, usually a week, she went every day to care for the mother and the newborn and wash their laundry. The midwife also recruited guests for the baptism. The midwife took the child to the baptism together with the godmother. The midwife also usually accompanied the woman in labor to the christening, especially if the newborn was also brought with them. If the newborn was weak, the midwife usually baptized him. The midwife was the organizer and spokesperson for the baptismal feasts. She usually received a set amount of money for her services, which could be exchanged for crops or food. The baby was usually entertained at the house with the baby. In some places, the money intended for the midwife was thrown into the child's first bath, in other places, midwife money and baby money were collected during the baptismal feast. In some places, the blessing drunk during the baptism was called the midwife's cup. ; ; The midwife's aids: ; a heart monitor, sterile gloves, a string for tying the umbilical cord, a catheter (baby expeller), scissors for cutting the umbilical cord, a discharge aspirator and a baptismal jug. ; ; About the midwifery trainers: ; I learned from the midwife - Gizella Erneczné Csintalan - that the midwifery training course was held at the Komárom hospital with 32 female students. These training courses were established because the midwives were starting to get old and they wanted much more qualified and younger successors to replace them. The course was open to those who successfully applied. They were taught by doctors and midwives for 10 months. During these few months, they learned important information about childbirth, which later played an important role. In order to become professional midwives, they had to successfully deliver 10 births under supervision. I also asked her what her best school experience was, and she smiled and said: “Of course, when the very first baby I helped into the world was born, that was my greatest joy.” ; ; Duties and work of a midwife: ; She started her work five days after completing the course, because that was when the first baby was born, for whom she was already assisting as an official midwife. The locals loved her because they knew and trusted her. Almost all the women in Hetény sought her out when it came to childbirth. Back then, there were many more births per year than there are now. ; Mothers were visited during pregnancy. They were given advice. During this time, women went to prenatal counseling, where their blood pressure was measured and blood was taken from them. It could happen that during pregnancy, if their blood pressure was high, their kidneys were not working properly, which was dangerous. When they were five months pregnant, the baby's heartbeat was checked with a special device. Later, before giving birth, the mother was already prepared, especially first-time parents, for what labor pains would be like, they were taught to breathe, and they did gymnastics. When that certain day came, Aunt Gizi was immediately notified. She examined the mother and then the baby so that she could safely give birth at home. If there were no abnormalities, the birth went without a problem, but if he noticed even the slightest abnormality, he immediately called the doctor or the ambulance and took the mother to the hospital. In the case of a home birth, only the mother and the midwife were there; the fathers were sent out so that they would not get sick. He cut the umbilical cord of the newborn baby with sterile instruments and then bathed it. He also cared for the mother and bathed it, and then let them rest. ; At first, he could even lead the first births at home if he found everything in order, but later, if he noticed even a tiny abnormality, he would take the mother to the hospital. Later, all firstborns had to be taken to the hospital. Parents who had multiple pregnancies could be led home, the baby was cleaned up, and the baby was bathed. ; After the baby was born, he visited the family for eight more days. She taught the baby to suckle and the mother to suckle. She taught the mother how to bathe her child. Her conscience was completely at ease when the mother bathed the baby twice in front of her. ; Since Hetény was a small village, they thought it was not worth sending a midwife to such a large village. Therefore, Aunt Gizi only worked in Hetény for the first few months, but later she worked in the maternity ward in Ógyalla, and for a while she was even able to keep the village. In the end, however, they took Hetény away from her, but she selflessly helped anyone who needed her. She also worked in the maternity ward in Komárom, in Szent Péter and Perbete, but somehow she ended up only in Hetény in the end. ; Aunt Gizi told me with emotion about her most memorable and at the same time the most difficult birth. Already during the birth, it was clear that this baby was not sure that he would be born alive. She was already holding the baby, who had been born in a white false death. However, she did not despair and dipped it in cold and warm water, as a result of which the child slowly came to life. She will never forget the joy when the baby cried for the rest of her life. Since then, she has looked at that man as if he were a little bit of her own son. ; At that time, babies who were born with a breech were sent for an X-ray, so that they would not remain lame later because of this. However, it happened that by the time Aunt Gizi arrived at the birth, the baby had already been born without assistance. She advised the parents to take it for an X-ray, because she could not determine afterwards how it was born, and so that it would not remain lame. However, the parents did not take the child, and when it started to walk, they saw that it was lame. The midwife was immediately reported, she was blamed for the lameness. Aunt Gizi was not harmed because they determined that she had nothing to do with the incident, she had told the parents in advance, but they did not listen to her, it was not her fault, it was entirely the parents'. ; The midwives went to meetings, they always discussed everything, they kept in touch with each other. ; ; The christening and the midwife: ; The baby was baptized three weeks after birth. During this time, the midwives brought the mother food in a bowl every day. In the 1930s, it was still an indispensable sign of community cohesion and mutual attention. By taking care of the nursing mother, they ensured that the mother would get stronger as quickly as possible after giving birth and could breastfeed as long as possible. The bowl contained a hearty lunch, with a little wine. Abundant and strong food was important, because "the child's place must be filled quickly". The number of courses was always odd. The first and last ones were usually sent by the head midwife, the other midwives took turns every day. Not only the midwives sent them, but also the other guests present at the baptismal feast loaded the midwives (3 ornate porcelain bowls). According to etiquette, the one who brought it tasted it first, and the mother and her family ate it before them. If they received more, the following after the first could be postponed until the next day, when they might not receive any. The midwife wished for strength, health, plenty of milk and good development, and asked the mother how the child was, how the birth had gone, and then gave her good advice. There were an average of 5-6 midwives per week, who put stew, meat soup, stew, fried meat, usually cottage cheese strudel and a liter of wine in the midwives. ; The mother, until she was introduced to the church, was not allowed to go out for six weeks. ; The midwife always invited all the komas to the christening. The midwife brought warm water, poured it over the baby's head, and baptized it. The oldest koma held the baby under the baptismal water. At the christening, the godparents made a promise that they would also contribute to the child's upbringing. For this occasion, the baby was covered with a Hetény embroidered blanket. The midwife was invited to every christening ceremony, where she had to start the song. If the koma was still a bachelor (unmarried), then his mother went to the christening instead. Later, the 'name-givers' became a custom, and these were no longer in the church, but in the village hall. Since Hetény was a Reformed village, it differed from the baptismal customs of the surrounding villages. In Catholic villages, there was only one godmother and one godfather, they baptized with holy water, but the ceremony was just as big as in the Reformed ones. ; ; What we don't like to talk about: ; It's true that there was another midwife in the village, but she was already old, and because of her excessive courage, she caused the death of several babies and mothers, so mostly those who would have liked to terminate the pregnancy turned to her. Aunt Gizi knew what the old midwife was doing, but she never had the heart to report her, although she could have done so several times. "If you don't help the young women, you won't be a good midwife - I help, why shouldn't I help? - But differently!! - not that, I didn't swear to that. I want to save lives, not kill them" was the dialogue between a woman and Aunt Gizi. During this, she also told me that once, a pregnant woman came to her with the intention of aborting her baby, but as it turned out, she had found the wrong midwife, because she had been directed to the old man. So Aunt Gizi took her soul into her hands and persuaded the mother to keep the child, who promised to do so and that they would visit her later, although this did not happen. Unfortunately, four women died under the old midwife's hands, but none of them were harmed. ; Most families only had one child, so if a second child had come, they would immediately visit the old midwife. In those days, only a few men were at home because of the war. At such times, many young women got into trouble and immediately turned to the old midwife, who gladly helped them. ; All the old midwives did the baby delivery, and you could even say that it was their main occupation, because they were paid more for it than for giving birth. The word spread throughout the village that Aunt Gizi did not do such things, and after that no one approached her with such requests, because they were afraid that she would report them. ; ; Conclusion: ; Even the doctors admired Aunt Gizi, because she always diagnosed any abnormality in time. I asked her what she thought about home birth, which has caused so much controversy recently? According to Aunt Gizi, the advantage of home birth is that the mother is at home in a family environment. But if there is really an abnormality, it is worth going to the hospital immediately. According to her, women today cannot handle anything, they prefer to give birth by caesarean section because they cannot bear the pain. Are we really that weak? ; Professionalism, humanity and a good dose of humor characterize my informant, who I believe would, even now, at over 80 years old, help a child be born without any problems if necessary. Thank you for that! ; ; The work of Franciska Androvics