Around the World Series | The Pillar of Support
How Cultures Around the World Offer Support in the Fourth Trimester
In the early days after birth, a mother begins a sacred transformation — not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Yet far too often in modern culture, she is expected to do it all on her own.
But across the world, traditional postpartum care holds a different truth: that mothers were never meant to navigate this season in isolation.
This month, as part of our Around the World Series, we spotlight Support — one of our core pillars — and how it is deeply embedded in postpartum traditions across cultures. Because healing doesn’t happen in solitude. It happens in connection. It happens in care.
Traditional Hawaiian Postpartum Tradition: The Circle of Ohana
In Hawaiian culture, the word ‘Ohana’ means family — but it goes beyond bloodlines. Ohana encompasses friends, neighbors, and chosen community.
During the postpartum period, Ohana becomes a vital lifeline. New mothers are supported not only with meals and help around the home, but also with emotional guidance, prayers, and presence.
Respected traditional midwives, known as "Kumu Waiwai", bring ancestral wisdom to this tender time — offering not only physical care but spiritual grounding. It is through Ohana that a mother is reminded: she is not alone. She is part of something greater.
Traditional Cambodian Postpartum Tradition: The Wisdom of Traditional Birth Attendants
In Cambodia, mothers are held by the steady presence of Traditional Birth Attendants — called yei maap. These women are more than midwives. They are protectors of lineage, of stories, of healing.
Especially in rural areas, they offer a kind of care that is both intimate and culturally grounded — using herbal remedies, warm compresses, and rituals passed down through generations.
Even today, efforts are being made to bridge traditional care with modern medicine, so that TBAs can continue their role as trusted pillars of support — rooted in cultural wisdom, but responsive to evolving needs.
Traditional Nepalese Postpartum Tradition: Returning to the Mother’s Home
In Nepal, the early postpartum season is not one of solitude — it is a return.
Many new mothers go back to their own mothers’ homes after birth, where they are surrounded by aunties, sisters, and elders who care for them and their baby.
They are not expected to cook, clean, or entertain. Instead, they are supported, deeply and wholly, so they can focus on healing.
Hot oil massages, nourishing meals, and gentle care become daily rituals — but so does something even more essential: being held by the women who came before you.
Support is a Human Need — Not a Luxury
Whether it’s through community-led care, midwifery traditions, or maternal homes, these postpartum practices carry a shared understanding:
"Healing is not a solo journey. It is one that deserves to be held, witnessed, and supported."
At Elan, we honour this wisdom. We believe support is not something mothers should earn — it is something they are worthy of, simply by being.
And in the delicate fourth trimester, support and rest go hand in hand. When a mother is surrounded by care, she is given the space to slow down — to truly rest, recover, and reorient in her new role.
Because when a mother is supported, she can soften. She can breathe. And most importantly, she can begin to heal.
As we continue to reimagine what postpartum care can look like today, may we hold this close:
No one heals alone — and no one should have to.
✨ In case you missed it, watch our “You Are Worthy of Rest” campaign here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfIVMCJmAjs
Sources:
https://elan.house/blogs/around-the-world-series/around-the-world-series-cambodian-postpartum-traditions
https://elan.house/blogs/around-the-world-series/around-the-world-series-traditional-nepalese-postpartum-practices
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