Preserving Generational Wisdom in Maternal and Infant Care

In every corner of India’s villages, there live women who carry centuries of wisdom in their hands the traditional midwives. Their knowledge, passed quietly from one generation to the next, holds within it the secrets of birth, recovery, and care that modern medicine is only beginning to recognize.

Through the MUMYU Midwife Knowledge Exchange Project, we set out to preserve this vanishing treasure before it fades away forever.

Preserving Generational Wisdom in Maternal & Infant Care

Over the years, our dedicated 8-member research team travelled across 3 states, 9 districts, and 12 villages, meeting and learning from more than 50 + last generational indigenous midwives the last living custodians of nature-rooted maternal and infant care practices. Together, they shared with us rituals, remedies, and techniques that have shaped safe motherhood for generations.

Voices of Wisdom

🌿 Nirmala Devi (63 years old, 42 years of experience)

With a simple touch of the belly, she can often sense pregnancy. Her skill lies in repositioning an inverted uterus with cloth binding, alongside age-old massage therapies that bring healing to new mothers.

🌿 Narda Devi (75 years old, 50 years of experience)

She continues the practice of Gatchi a traditional abdominal binding performed after childbirth. By supporting the uterus and abdomen, this technique helps mothers regain strength and move with comfort in the fragile days after delivery.

🌿 Sunder Kala (50 years old, 30 years of experience)

With decades of hands-on experience, Sunder Kala shares a traditional belief: feeding meconium to a newborn is thought to help improve the baby’s weight if the child is born underweight. While this reflects local cultural practices, it also highlights how communities have long sought natural ways to nurture fragile infants.

🌿 Shakuntala Devi (60 years old, 43 years of experience)

A guardian of herbal traditions, Kanta Devi advises mothers on foods that nurture and those that harm. She cautions against buttermilk and ripe mangoes during pregnancy, while recommending warm, nourishing foods like khichdi and dalia for postpartum recovery.

A Living Knowledge Bank in Maternal and Infant Care

What began as fragile oral traditions is now safeguarded in MUMYU’s Knowledge Bank, with over 5,000 pages of rich, culturally rooted wisdom. Each page holds the stories, techniques, and healing practices of women who have served countless mothers with dignity and care.

In each village, we saw not just midwives, but pillars of cultural memory. Practices like massaging newborns with oil, and preparing special porridge for new mothers are more than rituals they are echoes of ancestral care, refined over centuries and validated by modern research. Our project team witnessed how midwives adapt, learning from new health advice while preserving their role as compassionate guardians, often treating mothers like daughters and offering emotional strength during the most vulnerable times. Through our integrated approach, we aim not just to archive, but to champion the expertise of these women encouraging collaboration with modern health services and ensuring their legacy is woven into the fabric of India’s maternal care future.

Beyond Preservation

The Knowledge Exchange Project is not just about archiving it is about integration, respect, and empowerment. By documenting these practices, MUMYU ensures they are not lost to time but remain accessible to mothers, caregivers, health practitioners, and future generations.

This is more than research it is a revolution of remembrance. A celebration of women’s resilience. And a promise that their legacy will live on.

To every midwife who opened her home, heart, and heritage we bow in gratitude.

This is your story.

This is your legacy.

And it will not be forgotten.

Conclusion

The wisdom of traditional midwives like Sunder Kala and Shakuntala Devi is more than just practice it is a living heritage shaped by generations of care, observation, and intuition. While some methods may differ from modern science, they reflect a deep commitment to the wellbeing of Maternal & Infant Care. By preserving and documenting these practices through the MUMYU Midwife Knowledge Exchange Project, we ensure that this treasure of cultural knowledge is not forgotten but continues to inspire, inform, and enrich maternal and infant care for future generations.