The pioneer midwives of Sarawak
STORIES of mothers having to go through long and painful labour which sometimes resulted in death, especially in the old days where health and antenatal care was poor, are common to those growing up in the rural areas.
According to most of the accounts, out of 10 newborn, only one would survive.
In the past, specifically before the Japanese Occupation up till the formation of Malaysia in 1963, antenatal care in the rural areas had always been very poor.
Maternal death from complications while giving or after giving birth was quite common. Most babies died during delivery and such incidence has always been linked to superstitious beliefs.
At the time, the Kenyahs in Baram were still practising old customs prior to the arrival of Christianity there in the late 1940’s.
One of the well-known missionaries in Baram back then was Australian Ray Cunningham, better known as Tagang by the locals.
He travelled ino the interior with his wife, Evelyn, to preach the religion among the people from 1948 till 1990.
It was during this period that the couple spotted a young and bright teenager, Baun Balan, in Lio Mato and picked her for midwifery training in Kuching.
Baun, 17 then, was joined by Asong Lenjau, an aspiring 16year- old from Long Jeeh, another Kenyah settlement in the upper Baram. They paddled to Marudi before continuing their journey to Kuching on a ship.
After completing their two-year training in Kuching in Aug 1958, both returned home and became the pioneer midwives of Baram. Baun and Asong I had the opportunity to meet both Baun and Asong earlier this week.
Baun, now 80 years old, is a member of the church I am attending while Asong, 78, is a relative. Before that, I didn’t know who they were.
Asong returned to Long Jeeh in 1958 and immediately put her training to good use.
I learned that the first baby she brought into the world on Sept 24, 1958 was a boy named Disa Lawai.
Asong recalled while she was helping the woman in labour, the husband wasn’t quite sure about her (Asong’s) role as it was his first time seeing a baby being delivered in totally different manner.
“I remember the baby’s father was worried sick when I held the infant upside down and slapped the buttock softly because this practice is totally different from the old custom,” Asong said.
The mother was told to have adequate rest to recover. Old practice Asong said according to the old practice, a hot flat stone would be placed on the mother’s stomach while she prepared to deliver in a sitting position.
Firewood would be placed at her back to keep her warm and more importantly, the mother should never fall asleep.
Asong noted that in the past, the Kenyahs, in particular, were still holding to superstitious beliefs. This, she believes, had been the cause of many childbirth deaths at the time.
Unhygienic conditions and poverty also contributed to the high birth mortality rate.
“So, after my first successful delivery, many expectant mothers and their husbands came and asked for my help -- not just from the same village but also others like Long Moh, Long Tungan and Long Makabar.
“During that time, I had to travel to these villages in a longboat. The families would come to Long Jeeh to pick me up and sometimes, the journey to these villages was very dangerous because during high tide, the river could be very rough,” she said.
Despite the ever present perils, Asong would still make it a point to go whenever her help was needed. Childbirth incident Recalling a childbirth incident in Long Moh, she said a mother was having difficulty pushing her baby out and she was alerted to the problem by the husband who came to ask for her help.
She rushed over and discovered that only part of the baby’s head was out while the rest of the body was still inside the womb. And it had been like that for three days.
Asong said she tried to pull the baby out to save the mother but the task was extremely challenging as the baby’s body had bloated inside the womb.
Both mother and baby later died and were buried together.
“It broke my heart and I can still remember that tragic incident today. It must have been very painful for both mother and baby and I felt so helpless – I wasn’t able to save at least one, if not both, of them,” she related in a sad tone.
Asong revealed she had witnessed first-hand many difficult deliveries in her time as the only midwife in Long Jeeh.
She also helped to deliver Penan babies in Long Jekitan.
“Some would come to ask for my help but most preferred selfdelivery,” she noted.
Asong still remembers clearly to this day one Penan woman who had given birth successfully but an unfortunate incident happened after the delivery.
A large internal hemorrhoid had fallen out and the husband did not know what to do.
“He came to Long Jeeh and brought me in a longboat to check on his wife. When I arrived, I was shocked as I had never encountered such a case before.
“The husband suggested using a knife to cut the hemorrhoid but I told firmly him not to -- otherwise he could send me back to Long Jeeh.
“Thank God, he relented. I told him to go and get a basin and reminded him to clean it before filling it with warm water.
“I cleaned my hands and started to push the hemorrhoid back into her rectum. I managed to do it successfully,” Asong related.
Subsequently, she tied the woman’s waist with a piece of cloth and reminded her not to move about until she had fully recovered.
According to Asong, the woman is still alive today. Same challenge Baun, who worked in Lio Mato, another Kenyah settlement in Ulu Baram, also faced a similar challenge.
She said life back then was much harder, adding: “Poverty and old customs which many were still holding to were two main obstacles to ensuring the safety of mother and baby during birth.”
Baun remembers clearly how her mother died while giving birth to twins.
She was devastated and as she was still a child at the time, she couldn’t do anything to help. Her mother went through a very painful labour and died as a result of it.
“If only I were sent for training earlier, perhaps my mother would still be alive. I could have saved her,” Baun lamented.
The twins were alive at birth but died days later due to lack of proper care as the family was living in poverty.
Baun added that since she became a midwife at Lio Mato, there were no more deaths recorded of mothers while giving birth.
“It’s really a blessing for the two of us to be given the opportunity to train as midwives otherwise, there’s no telling how long it would take for better health and antenatal care to come to Baram.” Recognition The story of Asong and Baun was published in The Borneo Post in 2014 and could have been forgotten had it not been highlighted in the papers.
A follow- up story was published soon after, urging for the roles of the pioneer midwives to be duly recognised and honoured.
Hence, the Sarawak government, in conjunction with this year’s Women’s Day Celebration in Kuching tomorrow, will acknowledge their contributions.
These past years had seen the highest accolade – The Datuk Patinggi Laila Taib Award – bestowed on women actively involved in charity works and in welfare organisations.
Last year during the statelevel Women’s Day Celebration, the Datuk Patinggi Laila Taib Award was presented to Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Norkiah, wife of the former Head of State.
Unlike previously, recipients of the top award this year will have played a significant role in public health.
Two of them will be Baun and Asong who were both delighted when they first heard their contributions were being recognised.
“We’re so excited on hearing the news from our children.”
Both are also eager to meet their old friends who trained with them in 1956.
“It has been so long and we are beyond happy, knowing we will finally meet each other again,” they added.
On a personal note, Baun and Asong concurred they would not have been able to work as midwives in Baram if not for Tagang and Lalong.
Lalong was the name given to Kent Knightangle, a British missionary in the upper Baram at the time.
“Tagang ( Ray Cunningham) and Lalong were very helpful towards the Kenyahs. That, in a way, had helped to rebuild our lives for the better through our Christian faith,” they said.
Tomorrow we will feature the story of another pioneer midwife.