Hindu birth customs

A R Gatrad; M Ray; A Sheikh

doi:10.1136/adc.2004.050591

Responses

Leading article

Hindu birth customs

Compose a Response to This Article

Compose Response

Title *

Author Information

Contributors
First Name and Middle Initial * First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'. Last Name * Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'. Email Address * Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com Occupation * Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'. Affiliation * Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.

Statement of Competing Interests

Competing interests? *

Yes

Please describe the competing interests

PLEASE NOTE:

A rapid response is a moderated but not peer reviewed online response to a published article in a BMJ journal; it will not receive a DOI and will not be indexed unless it is also republished as a Letter, Correspondence or as other content. Find out more about rapid responses.
We intend to post all responses which are approved by the Editor, within 14 days (BMJ Journals) or 24 hours (The BMJ), however timeframes cannot be guaranteed. Responses must comply with our requirements and should contribute substantially to the topic, but it is at our absolute discretion whether we publish a response, and we reserve the right to edit or remove responses before and after publication and also republish some or all in other BMJ publications, including third party local editions in other countries and languages
Our requirements are stated in our rapid response terms and conditions and must be read. These include ensuring that: i) you do not include any illustrative content including tables and graphs, ii) you do not include any information that includes specifics about any patients,iii) you do not include any original data, unless it has already been published in a peer reviewed journal and you have included a reference, iv) your response is lawful, not defamatory, original and accurate, v) you declare any competing interests, vi) you understand that your name and other personal details set out in our rapid response terms and conditions will be published with any responses we publish and vii) you understand that once a response is published, we may continue to publish your response and/or edit or remove it in the future.
By submitting this rapid response you are agreeing to our terms and conditions for rapid responses and understand that your personal data will be processed in accordance with those terms and our privacy notice.

I agree to and have read the terms and conditions for rapid responses and BMJ Privacy Notice *

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Vertical Tabs

Other responses

Jump to comment:

More about Hindu Customs
Aruna Abhyankar
Published on: 22 March 2016
cultural practices in perinatal care
dr sudarshan kumari
Published on: 22 March 2016
Improving cultural competency
Rajesh Pandey
Published on: 22 March 2016

Published on: 22 March 2016
More about Hindu Customs
- Aruna Abhyankar, Paediatric Surgery SpR
Dear Editor,
I congratulate the authors for their interesting article. As they have rightly pointed out, it is an impossible task to summarise the vast variations of Hindu traditions. But it must have made the many Indian doctors in paediatrics wonder and inquire about these traditions. The extent of awareness of Hindu traditions amongst Hindus varies significantly. It is possible that the authors have more know...
Show More

Dear Editor,
I congratulate the authors for their interesting article. As they have rightly pointed out, it is an impossible task to summarise the vast variations of Hindu traditions. But it must have made the many Indian doctors in paediatrics wonder and inquire about these traditions. The extent of awareness of Hindu traditions amongst Hindus varies significantly. It is possible that the authors have more knowledge of customs from selected parts of India.
In photographs depicting ethnic and colourful images of India, most toddlers are seen wearing bracelets and anklets of black cotton thread as well as black and golden beads. It is a widespread practice to adorn the new baby with these ornaments. A newborn is traditionally preseneted with gold and silver bracelets, chain and a waistband by the grandparents. Some of these ornaments are family heirlooms and of great sentimental value. The toddlers and young children are adorned with these on festive occasions. The black thread worn either at wrist or as a necklace can sensitive issue (esp when asked to be cut off prior to surgery or at admission) as it is supposed to ward off evil. Similarly when a baby is taken for a walk outside the house he or she will commonly sport a black dot of "kajal" for similar purpose (sometimes very discretely on the soles only).
Also, the first outing of the new baby is always to a temple (this is true for most families in the UK) and most grandparents do not approve of allowing a baby outside the house during the first 2-3 weeks or before the naming ceremony.
Lastly may I note that the Om is considered the Original sound of the universe. It is not the only AKSHAR. The correct spelling following the accurate SANSKRIT pronounciation is AKSHAR and not AKSAR. Literal meaning of Akshar= A-Kshar :( Na ksharati iti Akshar) is the one which cannot be destroyed. The word Akshar is used for letters of a word in Sanskrit and affiliated languages. An alphabet is called Mulakshar = Original or source letter. The possible explanation is: the carved letters (stone/ wood) were relatively indestructible and hence the name.
Show Less

Conflict of Interest:
None declared.
- Back to top
Published on: 22 March 2016
cultural practices in perinatal care
- dr sudarshan kumari, pediatrician-neonatologist
Dear Editor,
The authors of this paper on Hindu Birth Customs have highlighted most practices which are part of hindu culture. However some more practices which are benficial for mothers and neonates are being mentioned here.
Place of delivery: first delivery mostly occured at girl,s parents house,where she is sent from inlaws house about 2-3 months before term, where she is treated as special person, ge...
Show More

Dear Editor,
The authors of this paper on Hindu Birth Customs have highlighted most practices which are part of hindu culture. However some more practices which are benficial for mothers and neonates are being mentioned here.
Place of delivery: first delivery mostly occured at girl,s parents house,where she is sent from inlaws house about 2-3 months before term, where she is treated as special person, gets good affordable diet, rest with no tension of any sort. This also has the benfit of abstinence ,which helps in reduction of amniotic infection and preterm labour,as in a study at government hospital in delhi, had noted 10-15%incidence of preterm labour following cohabitation within last 24hours and higher incidence of congenital pneumonia if cohabitatin was frequent within a week preceeding delivery.
After delivery mother infant dyads are together for more period as she is not involved in household cores as when in her own house,where as daughter inlaw she is supposed to carry out her duries as soon after delivery as possible.
Girl's parents in north india, give to their nursing daughters a gift of sweetdish called panjiri which has high fat and protein content and act as nutiernt supplement for mother for about 2 months. This practice promotes breast milk secretion.it was noted by me that mothers who consumed more than 5 kg of ffats in addition to family dier had 300gm more weight at 3 months than those who had <_3kg fat.="fat." p="p"/> However,due to distance and cost involved many young couples in urban are do not avail of above good practices,
Show Less

Conflict of Interest:
None declared.
- Back to top
Published on: 22 March 2016
Improving cultural competency
- Rajesh Pandey, SHO Neonatology
Dear Editor,
In their article, A.R.Gatrad et al attempt to build a prototype for Hindu birth customs. Being a Hindu, I myself felt quite surprised at not being aware of many customs and rituals referred to in the article. Contrary to what is mentioned in the article, the law in India stipulates that a male be atleast 21 years and a female 18 years at the time of marriage.
Despite their very sinc...
Show More

Dear Editor,
In their article, A.R.Gatrad et al attempt to build a prototype for Hindu birth customs. Being a Hindu, I myself felt quite surprised at not being aware of many customs and rituals referred to in the article. Contrary to what is mentioned in the article, the law in India stipulates that a male be atleast 21 years and a female 18 years at the time of marriage.
Despite their very sincere intentions, the article may fail in its purpose. Hinduism as a religion is sufficiently wide in its scope to accomodate a very wide array of beliefs and practices. It may therefore not be of academic relevance to the medical community to have a prototype for birth customs in religious communities like Hindus.
I do however agree with the goal of improving understanding of cultural groups based on self-reflection, self-awareness and acceptance of differences. This is also highly relevant to medical professionals who have trained overseas, many from Asian countries, and are exposed to Western culture for the first time in United Kingdom.
Reference
Constitution of India. Hindu Marriage Act (1955) Section 5, Amendment Act of 1978.
Show Less

Conflict of Interest:
None declared.
- Back to top

Main menu

Plain text

PLEASE NOTE:

Vertical Tabs

Other responses

Jump to comment:

Log in using your username and password

Main menu

Log in using your username and password

You are here

Plain text

PLEASE NOTE:

Vertical Tabs

Other responses

Jump to comment:

Read the full text or download the PDF:

Log in using your username and password