East Timor

This former Portuguese colony, occupied by Indonesia from 1975 until 1999, had a population of 1.12 million in 2005, with a female life expectancy rate of 68.7 years. It has a birth rate of 27 per 1,000 population, and an infant mortality rate of 45.9 per 1,000 live births.

During the period of Portuguese colonial rule, outside Dili, the administrative capital, tribal society was largely unaffected. These societies involved clans who lived in villages, where women were responsible for traditional chores, including bringing up children, preparing food, and tending crops. The clinics established in Dili were essentially for the Portuguese, expatriates, and the local elite. In Tetun (or Tetum) society, a dowry—known as bride wealth—was paid by the bride's family. The newlywed couple then lived in their own house, where the wife gave birth and brought up children with help from both her and her husband's extended family.

Xanana Gusmao, East Timor's former guerilla leader and later president, wrote of his mother raising him and his siblings, but otherwise included very little in his autobiography about his mother. Gusmao's second wife, the Australian-born Kirsty Sword Gusmao, expressed herself in her memoirs on the role of women bringing up children in East Timor. After East Timor's independence, she wrote about her attempt to achieve normalcy in their home while tumultuous events were rocking the nation.

During the Indonesian occupation, there was an expansion of health services, this time beyond the city of Dili. Many clinics were built, which were particularly important for midwives. This allowed for improved birthing and child-rearing techniques, leading to a reduction in infant mortality rates. However, after the East Timorese voted for independence in 1999, pro-Indonesian militia destroyed many of these facilities, especially in rural areas. Since then there have been attempts to rebuild the health services. Foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and charities have improved health care, although there is no provision of social security for mothers.