essay
From Ma'ULI to motivator: transformations in reproductive health care in Tonga
Birthing the Pacific: beyond tradition and modernity • Honolulu • Published In 2002 • Pages: 31-55
By: Lee, Helen Morton.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Lee examines the different models of pregnancy and birth in Tonga. She first discusses traditional birthing practices and the role of the Mā'ULI, the traditional midwife. Tongans place a high value on children and have a relatively high fertility rate. In 1938 the Tongan government began to build a modern public health system with clinics and nursing schools. The use of Mā'ULI has decreased from 78 percent of births in 1954 to under seven percent in 1987. Lee discusses the Tongan use of, and attitudes towards, the Western model of modern birthing practice. According to Lee, both models have their pros and cons. This document includes 29 pages of references from the annotated volume 'Birthing in the Pacific: Beyond Tradition and Modernity?' in which the article originally appeared.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Information sources listed in other works
- Pregnancy
- Childbirth
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Tongans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2006
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Polynesia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1988-1989
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1938-1996
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Tonga
- NotesAdditional notes
- Helen Morton
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-231)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 2001043461
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tongans