"We follow what our elders taught us": an ethnographic study of kinship, rituals, and reproductive transitions among women in the GaRBH cohort, Rajasthan, India.

Abstract

This paper examines the cultural meanings and ritual practices surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, and early infant care in Bikaner, and their implications for maternal and newborn wellbeing. We conducted a qualitative ethnographic study based on in-depth interviews and short-term observations of household rituals with 33 participants, including 13 pregnant women, 11 recently delivered mothers, and 9 elder female family members. The findings reveal that pregnancy is widely perceived as a vulnerable and transformative phase that necessitates heightened care, protection, and collective familial support. Rituals such as godbharai, chathiar, and annaprashan are ceremonial practices that function as inherent mechanisms through which families express care, strengthen their kinship ties, and provide emotional reassurance to women during periods of bodily and social transition. Similarly, beliefs associated with the placenta, maternal blood, and postpartum seclusion further illuminate how women and families interpret and make sense of reproductive experiences through local cultural frameworks. At the same time, the study also identifies some long-held customs, particularly restrictive dietary norms, postpartum restrictions, and delays in seeking biomedical care, that may adversely affect maternal nutrition and neonatal health outcomes. Rather than framing tradition and biomedicine as oppositional, the paper argues for a culturally sensitive public health approach that recognizes the social and emotional significance of ritual practices while promoting safe and evidence-based maternal and newborn care.