irth as an accepted part of life processes in general. During early labor, the midwife and other lay women "instruct" the mother on how to deliver, and this verbal exchange often includes stories of others deliveries, as well as descriptions of the amount of pain experienced. According to Jordan, the husband's participation in the birth and witnessing of the wife's pain "become a powerful interactional force which plays a major role in the men's willingness to 'cuidar' their wives." --Cuidar means abstinence or coitus interruptus.-- (Jordan 37).
Another method of exploring female sexuality and roles within society is contained in Lucile F. Newman(s article analyzing symbolism and status change for American and Indian women after the onset of fertility and the birth of the first child. A woman's consciousness, or view of reproduction and sexuality, is partly constructed socially and partly from each Individual's unique biographical situation. "The expectations of those around her regarding her fertility also play a role in establishing her female identity"
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