“Chewing gum,” she said, “is what helped me in my labour. My labour stopped and the doctor thought I was mad but I said I always chew gum. It relaxes me. And when I was in labour the pains just suddenly stopped because I just needed that gum. I was thinking about it the whole time. Every day I chew gum, except now, when I needed it most, I didn’t have any! So I told my mother to go and get me some gum and when she came and I started chewing it. I could relax and so my labour started again and my baby was born soon after.”