Introduction-E

What happened?
Saullu: The baby got stuck and my husband used all his strength to push it because I
was not able to do it, so I asked someone to get him for me.
How was this baby Leah adopted?
Saullu: She used to faint sometimes, when we were camping in the summer shortly
after she was born. I think it was because the membrane covering the heart had been
torn due to weak contractions.
Maybe this happened during the delivery?
Saullu: Yes. A long time ago they said the baby would have heart problems if
contractions were too weak and if the passage of the mother was too narrow. Then we
had to push it out. That was the only way to deliver the baby. The baby seemed to be
stuck that time, and I think he saved the mother because she would have died if she had
not delivered.
When the water has broken and there is no more fluid, is that when
the baby has difficulty coming out, is that when it is time to deliver?
Saullu: Exactly.
If that happens then the baby cannot come out?
Saullu: No, not because of the water. She had a narrow passage when delivering. We as
females have different sizes of passages; we are all like that. We all have different sizes,
some longer than others. We used to be told not to wait too long before getting a
husband. If we did, our passage would set. They used to tell us not to wait too long so
our passage wouldn’t set. These bones, the pelvic bones, would not be able to separate
anymore. That’s what I heard. If it had been a while since the female had been pregnant
and if the pelvic bones were not able to separate; an asimautta would be placed here
[demonstrating] and someone else would kneel on it and separate the bone. This would
happen to women who had not had a husband soon enough.
What is an asimautta?
Saullu: Someone puts the board on her lower back and kneels on top. That is how they
separated the pelvic bones.
Life Stories – Saullu Nakasuk 79