Childbirth in the history and culture of the Yorubas is a very vital issue, since a marriage without a child is believed to be a union not blessed by God. The issue of child birth in the tradition of the Yorubas is very important and so are guarded by some norms and culture which varies from family to family and from community to community, which is strictly adhered to for the benefit of the mother and child. During the period of conception a lot of traditional rites are performed, where a woman visits one herbalist or the other referred to as ( elewe omo) where concoctions are prepared for her to avoid miscarriages and also guide her from unnecessary hazards . She is also barn from going out in the afternoon and at night and some foods are not for her to eat. Traditionally, on the delivery day a woman is asked to lie on the mat to deliver and the herbalist she sees is called upon to take the delivery, some family or community according to their culture prepares soup without salt for the woman referred to as (ate) and some use palm oil to eat,

some eat frogs and lizards till the day the child is christened, these are strictly adhered to so as to avoid calamities befalling the family and also the mother and child. The day the child is named is also a very important day as the name given to the child is determined by the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child and also according to the family tradition, if twins are born they are called taiwo and kehinde, if the child comes with the legs he is called ige adunbi and he is born to a masquerade (Egungun) family his name begins with Egun, to the family of the hunter(Ode) his name starts with Ode, to the royal (Oba)family it begins with Ade. Consequently, the tradition of the Yorubas in naming a child is the joint responsibility of the community to which the child is born, items used in everyday life are also presented on the said day and this depends on the family preferences.