Omugwo is a Nigerian culture originating from the South-East. It is a period where a new mother is pampered as she recovers from delivering a baby. Every Nigerian mother, both experienced and inexperienced, looks forward to it.
Nigerians value children. The cry of a newborn baby is seen as a blessing. When a couple gets married, the next thing everyone looks forward to is an announcement of a newborn. Although it can be embarrassing for the couple, especially if they’re having fertility issues, having a baby is what every Nigerian mother wants for her married son or daughter.
So, what is omugwo? How does it work exactly? You will find out as you read this article to the end.
Table of Content hide 1What is omugwo? 2Omugwo routine 3Importance of omugwo 4Disadvantages of omugwoWhat is omugwo?
Wikipedia defines it as the process by which a family member takes care of a new mother and her baby shortly after childbirth. It is an Igbo word, and the mother of the new mum usually carries out traditional custom for postpartum care.
Other ethnic groups in Nigeria have their own omugwo. For instance, the Yoruba call theirs ojojo omo while the people of Akwa Ibom call their postpartum tradition umaan.
The omugwo period can be anytime from a month to six months. Some grandmas or women doing the omugwo stay up to a year, but that’s very rare.
ALSO READ: 6 signs your body is getting ready for labour
Omugwo routine
The omugwo routine in Igbo land is usually a long one. By tradition, only the mother of the new mum is allowed to perform omugwo. However, if for some reason she’s not available due to some reasons such as death or illness or she’s not in the picture, then another female member of the new mum’s family will step in for the job. Sometimes, the mother-in-law of the new mum will have to perform the omugwo.
Preparations usually start weeks or even months before a baby is delivered. The woman doing the omugwo will come with the necessary local delicacies, which the nursing mother requires to return her body to normal after delivery. During this period, the new mum does nothing but eat, sleep and take care of herself and her baby. The woman who does the omugwo will do all the cooking and the household chores so that the new mum can rest and recover quickly.
Speaking of delicacies, the new mum is placed on a strict diet that requires a lot of spicy food to help flush residual “bad blood” (lochia) from her system. The common spices that will be included in her food are uziza (West African Pepper ), ehuru (calabash nutmeg) and uda (African Negro pepper). Apart from expelling lochia, the spices also help in milk production to enable the new mum to breastfeed her baby well.
For the strict diet, the new mom is placed on different delicacies such as ji mmiri oku (yam pepper soup garnished with assorted fish) and ofe nsala (white soup) with pounded yam. These delicacies must contain all the spices mentioned above. Pap is also another great food that a new mum is expected to take to aid milk production. Traditionally, a new mum is allowed to drink palm wine, which is believed to be a milk booster. But modern science has since dismissed that notion, categorically stating that palm wine is alcoholic and, thus, dangerous for a breastfeeding mother.
Then there is the hot water treatment and massages. Here, the “omugwo woman” bathes the nursing mother twice per day, during which she presses the abdominal and genital areas with hot water. This enhances the fast healing of the vagina and also helps reduce belly fat for the nursing mum. A Sitz bath is also recommended, with the nursing mum made to squat above a bowl of warm water prepared with salt or disinfectants.
Another routine is using a wrapper to tie the stomach of the nursing mum to flatten it. These days, many nursing mums prefer using postpartum belts. Meanwhile, tieing wrapper is not recommended for women who went through caesarian operation to avoid causing more problems from the incised area.
The newborn baby is not left out as the grandma meticulously massages and bathes the baby. These massages are believed to aid the flexibility of the limbs. Also, there is the traditional belief that these massages help to correct any physical “abnormalities” on the head, nose, buttocks, and legs to help the baby grow with a great body shape.
In the olden days, a nursing mother makes her first appearance at the market square during the end of the omugwo period. She dances with her baby while people shower her with gifts. With the advent of Christianity, the tradition has been shifted to the church in the name of child dedication, during which the nursing mum and her baby are presented to the priest to be prayed for.
At the end of the omugwo, special preparations will be made for the grandma or woman who did the omugwo. She will be gifted with wrappers, foodstuffs and money to thank her for caring for the nursing mother.
Importance of omugwo
Omugwo is an Igbo tradition that recognises that women lose a lot of blood and nutrients after giving birth. So they need help to recover. For a first-time mum, this is a period to learn how to take care of her baby as she watches her mother or the woman doing the omugwo take care of her baby. For an experienced nursing mum, omugwo ease the burden of taking care of her baby and do house chores.
ALSO READ: Pregnancy myths: Food, prevention methods, what movies say
Omugwo also helps the nursing mother to recover faster. She’s only allowed to breastfeed her baby, sleep, eat, and care for herself. This ensures that she recovers all the strength and nutrients she lost during childbirth. You can see why many nursing mothers under omugwo are always looking fat.
Disadvantages of omugwo
Like every other tradition, omugwo comes with its imperfections.
- Some women who came for omugwo become obstacles in their children’s marriages. They interfere in everything, becoming third parties by giving unsolicited advice.
- Some women are actually lazy to do chores. Omugwo is a period where a nursing mum is expected to rest, but the opposite seems to be the case as the grandma will rather relax and watch TV and leave the new mum to do all the chores.
- There are high-maintenance women whose arrival will add unnecessary financial burden for the new parents. The arrival of a newborn means an additional mouth to feed, but some omugwo women don’t care as they make the new parents pay for their expensive lifestyles.
- Many grandmas are rooted in traditions. Some of these traditions come with dangerous practices for caring for a nursing mum and newborn. They include bathing the baby with very hot water, and shaking or throwing the baby up and down to “stop fear.” For the nursing mum, many hot water treatments are dangerous for their health. A lot of these nursing mums are forced to give their babies dangerous concoctions in the name of making their babies grow stronger.
- The average period for omugwo is three months, but some “omugwo women” will pitch permanent tents in their children’s homes. Some of these women have husbands who need them, but for some reason, they will prefer to stay put where they went to do omugwo.
Omugwo is a beautiful traditional Igbo culture which has spread to other ethnic groups in Nigeria. However, it has its downsides. This is why it’s important for the parties involved to understand their roles and not cross boundaries.
