A dangerous practice
As they get more and more used to missionaries George and Ginny Olson, David and Julie Ward and Elise Long, the Brooke's Point Palawano people in the Philippines are beginning to trust and listen.
The Palawano men have a practice of taking turns pushing on the stomach of a woman in labor. All of the nearby men are called and sometimes up to six at a time push.
"This is a painful and dangerous practice," wrote George, "which often results in the baby being killed, and sometimes the mother. Their reason is that they believe that without men pushing on the woman’s stomach, the baby will not come out, and might actually travel upwards inside the mother and kill her."
The Olsons were first introduced to this tradition over a year ago when they wound up suddenly alone in the tribe. Now the same woman was giving birth again, and the team had told people that they were concerned for the mother.
"When the new mother was going into labor this time, again they called the men over to push." This time, though, because of the concerns expressed by the missionaries, the Palawano men did not push as hard or as violently.
The labor went on through the night. When the baby still wasn’t born, some Palawanos went to the Ward’s home and asked for help. Julie went over and checked on the mother.
"She had the men there lift up the mother to be at an angle, and then explained to the mother how to push out the baby when she has a contraction. She pushed, and out came the baby. … The baby is a strong healthy baby boy now!"
Not only was this event important in that a life was saved, but it opens the doors for people to question what they’ve been taught by their ancestors.
"We do not put down their beliefs in what their ancestors taught them, but we do try to gently get them to see that their ancestors were just people (not superheroes as they tend to think) and didn’t always know everything," wrote George.
Please pray for the continued health of the infant, and for the Brooke's Point Palawanos to see this as a sign that maybe God’s Word can be trusted.