Fascinating footage sheds light on the harsh conditions faced by nomadic reindeer herders in the Russian Arctic, especially when it comes to women who are pregnant.
A video uploaded to YouTube by Natalia Patrusheva documents a woman named Vera as she navigates giving birth to her third child in the depths of winter.
In the clip, overlaid captions reveal how the nomadic women work hard until giving birth and to prove this, Vera is seen conducting a range of chores despite being almost nine months pregnant.
When she wakes up in the morning, the first thing she does is make the fire and melt snow for drinking water.
Fascinating footage sheds light on the harsh conditions faced by nomadic reindeer herders in the Russian Arctic, especially when it comes to women who are pregnant
A video uploaded to YouTube by Natalia Patrusheva documents a woman named Vera as she navigates giving birth to her third child in the depths of winter
In the clip, overlaid captions reveal how the nomadic women work hard until giving birth and to prove this, Vera is seen conducting a range of chores despite being pregnant
The video explains that tundra women are not allowed to give birth in the chum as they believe that it makes the abode unclean. Instead, the nomadic women give birth in a small outbuilding
She then goes about knocking snow from the outside of the chum (the Russian word for a tent or yurt), which is constructed out of reindeer hides and keeps the nomadic family warm in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees.
During the day, while her husband looks after the reindeer herd, Vera completes various tasks, which include butchering meat and cooking for all the family.
According to Russia Beyond, some of the typical foods eaten by nomads include thinly sliced frozen raw fish, cooked fish and a ‘thick and very hearty soup,’ known as as ‘ucha’ or ‘shurpa.’
In the video, Vera can be seen slicing frozen fish and reindeer meat, and stirring a pot of soup on the stove.
Unlike ‘city women,’ the captions explain that pregnant nomads don’t have any food restrictions and they continue eating raw produce throughout.
In preparation for Vera’s pregnancy, ‘Grandma’ also stars in the video and she is filmed sewing an ‘envelope’ out of deerskin that will be used as a pouch for the newborn.
Suddenly the footage cuts to show Vera’s husband using a cell phone to message a doctor in town.
While her first child was born in the tundra, Vera’s second child was born in hospital and that was the plan for her third.
In one scene, Vera can be seen crouched on all fours as she goes into labor by the fire, with her family members on hand to help
The captions reveal that it was a difficult labor and ‘many hours went by’
The next morning, a ‘small but beautiful baby girl’ was born and the doctors eventually arrived with the calmer weather
They confirmed that the baby was healthy and weighed 6.6lbs, to which Grandma exclaimed: ‘She’s fat’
At the end of the video a doctor touches on the lives of nomadic women in the tundra, describing it as ‘tough’
To get to the hospital, a helicopter is required as the distance is too far.
While it was scheduled to arrive the next day to pick up Vera, a severe blizzard hit and it was not possible for the aircraft to get to the family’s remote location.
As a result, Vera ended up giving birth at home.
The video explains that tundra women are not allowed to give birth in the chum as they believe that it makes the temporary abode unclean.
Instead, the nomadic women give birth in a ‘small, cold outbuilding.’
In one scene, Vera can be seen crouched on all fours as she goes into labor by the fire, with her family members on hand to help.
The captions reveal that it was a difficult labor and ‘many hours went by.’
They also highlight that tundra women never yell or cry during labor as this is considered a sign of weakness.
To help ease the pain, Vera’s aunt can be seen picking straw from under the mother to give to a shamanic healer.
The baby’s crib can be seen hanging from the roof of the chum
In another video uploaded by Patrusheva, a nomadic woman is shown crafting a diaper using moss and a deerskin
The mother is seen using the moss for the absorbent part of the diaper before wrapping a deer pelt around the baby to keep the natural material in place
The next morning, a ‘small but beautiful baby girl’ was born and the doctors eventually arrived with the calmer weather.
They confirmed that the baby was healthy and weighed 6.6lbs, to which Grandma exclaimed: ‘She’s fat!’
At the end of the video a doctor touches on the lives of nomadic women in the tundra, describing it as ‘tough.’
They add: ‘Even heavily pregnant they keep working hard. They are not like us, they don’t go to hospital when [they] get sick.’
In another video uploaded by Patrusheva, a nomadic woman is shown crafting a diaper using moss and a deerskin.
The mother is seen using the moss for the absorbent part of the diaper before wrapping a deer pelt around the baby to keep the natural material in place.
The captions explain that later, the moss will just be thrown away and replaced, making it a much cheaper and eco-friendly alternative to Pampers.
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