Immediately she arrives, the mother who comes for Omugwo goes to work. Omugwo is misunderstood to be a period of enjoyment, but it is not. It is actually a lot of work, where knowledge is transferred to the new mother, who must be confused about many things. There are so many things that a mother does during Omugwo.
First is hot water therapy. The mother massages the new mother to help relieve any pain or discomfort she may be feeling after childbirth. This is critical for healing.
The mother also bathes the new mum as it is believed there is a specific way of bathing someone who just gave birth.
The mother, who is more experienced, shares childcare knowledge with the new mum. She teaches her how to breastfeed and how to bathe a new baby and also uses the native condiments she brought to cook some specific food like pepper soup and 'ji mmiri oku' for the new mum.
