This ethnographic study sought to understand, from the native perspective, the traditional childbearing values and practices of Coast Salish peoples and the difficulties in maintaining these in a society that is not oriented to native values and practices. Observations and interviews were carried out over a 4-year period on the Songhees reserve in British Columbia, with the most intensive research focused on six women of childbearing age and four women of post-childbearing age and their families. A review of the literature and analysis of research data generated a conceptual framework that integrated mind, body, spirit, and environment concepts and focused on transactional processes. The Medicine Wheel is the native means of structuring the integration of these concepts, with its four directions depicting concepts essential to wholeness and health. During any part of the life cycle, health is related to harmony among the elements of the individual's Medicine Wheel and all others in the individual's environment. Family members and elders are responsible for the general education of youth, but women are primarily responsible for health matters and transmission of childbearing beliefs and practices. Health and childbearing education are accomplished as a part of daily life and at salient times through oral communication and role modeling. Women who had received traditional childbearing teachings felt committed to them and did not perceive contemporary health care workers as part of their health care system. Prenatal classes were perceived as being "difficult" since they are not taught in traditional ways. This paper contains 19 references and 4 diagrams of Medicine Wheel concepts. (SV)