Giving birth in modern times is very different from the days gone by.
Today, a mother can choose if she wants to go for a natural delivery or a cesarean section.
A mock-up of a midwife-assisted childbirth at Siriraj Bimuksthan Museum.
Hospitals also offer "delivery packages", with the mother and her baby kept under the close watch of obstetricians, neonatal pediatricians, anaesthesiologists and a troop of nurses.
But in the past, there were no such packages for a mother to choose, no teams of doctors and nurses.
The labouring was done by only one person— a midwife, or mor tamyae in Thai.
It is said that tamyae is the name of a Buddhist monk who wrote a scripture about baby delivery.
Midwives played an important role about 60 years ago, when there were few hospitals. And although medical care has developed tremendously in major cities since the 1960s, people in remote areas still use the services of midwives.
A midwife was usually afforded the highest respect of the locals. Most learned the traditional methods of caring for women in labour from their ancestors.
The midwife would wander from one house to another, going wherever anyone asked for her to assist in childbirth.
When the woman was about to give birth, the midwife would gently press her hand on the the mother's abdomen and hum a folk song to calm her down.
She would assist the mother in forcing the baby out and, once the infant had entered the world, the midwife would cut the umbilical cord with a sharp piece of bamboo before cleaning up the child.
She would then place cloth bags filled with warm herbs on several parts of the mother's body to keep blood circulation flowing and to help her regain strength.
The midwife would also make herbal drinks that were believed to help the mother recover quickly.
After the delivery, the midwife would visit the mother and the baby every day for a week to make sure both were doing well.
The role of midwives in assisting childbirth has faded with the arrival of modern medical technology in remote areas.
In the 1970s, the government began to build community hospitals in remote districts. New medical technology, doctors and nurses were sent to these hospitals. One of their priorities was to cut down the number of maternal and neonatal deaths.
More and more pregnant women turn to hospitals now instead of calling the midwife when they give birth.
Better access to healthcare services and advanced medical technology have reduced the maternal and infant mortality rates significantly — from 80 per 1,000 about 60 years ago, to only 6.6 per 1000 deaths at present.
Miscarriages and childbed fever, a bacterial infection contracted by women during childbirth or a miscarriage, have also decreased.
Although few women use midwives these days, their traditional knowledge of child delivery remains very much alive.
The Public Health Ministry has a project to preserve the midwife's expertise by registering them nationwide and compiling for future study their knowledge about child delivery.
In some areas, midwives work with public health officials to take care of mothers' and children's health.
Delivery packages may offer everything a woman needs in giving birth, but what is not available in these packages is the gentle voice of a mor tamyae singing a folk song to comfort the mother and to bless the newborn.
