Research Studies of Pregnancy Supersitions to explain Human Congenital Malformations in two Contemporary Societies

Abstract

During the course of current paediatric practice in Australia, one has had the opportunity to study and document beliefs and attitudes to the birth of infants with congenital abnormalities. I worked as a clinical paediatrician in both modern urban teaching hospitals, and in the field both in Australia and in New Guinea with patients living contemporary paleolithic and neolithic life-styles. One has been struck by the similarity, in these two quite polar cultures (modern Western urban, and contemporary paleolithic) of pregnancy superstitions and beliefs concerning the aetiology of congenital malformations. This report describes a research study to document the comparative features of such beliefs in (a) a modern urban community of contemporary Western women — The Brisbane Study, and (b) a contemporary paleolithic group of Australian Aborigines living on Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia.