The postpartum tradition of sawa Mahina in Rural Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

The Punjabi postpartum tradition is called sawa mahina ('fve weeks'). This study∗ investigates infant health care belief practices in rural Punjab and looks at the social signifcance of infant care beliefs practiced during sawa mahina. During six months of feldwork, using participant observation and unstructured interviews as primary research methods, the study explored the prevalent postpartum tradition from a childcare perspective. A Punjabi child holds a social value regarding familial, religious, and emotional values. The fve-week traditional postpartum period provides an insight into mother-child atachment, related child care belief practices, and the social construction of infancy. A child's agency is recognised in the embodied mother-child relationship, and a child is seen in a sympathetic connection with the mother. Establishing an early foundation of ascribed identities is another important part of postpartum belief practices.