This week ends (ha ha weekends) on very a positive note. I feel thankful for my family and my new
nephew. Simon and I became an aunt and
uncle again this morning. In Korea the
terms aunt and uncle are a little different because there are different ways to
say them. Depending on how you say aunt actually
specifies which side of the family you referring to mothers or fathers. If you are referring to the maternal side of
the family you would say 이모 which is pronounced Ee-mo. For the paternal side of the family you would
say 고모 which is pronounced Go-mo. The same also applies to uncle the maternal
side being 삼촌 pronounced Sam-chon and paternal uncle would be 숙부 that is pronounced Suek-bu. There are some other technical rules
which really confused me about the uncle-in-laws name and I won’t attempt to
confuse you.
A little information
about childbirth here in Korea
~typically you get an ultrasound every month of pregnancy
your first one being when you initially find out your pregnant which can be as
early at 4 to 5 weeks.
~typically the man is not in the room for ultrasounds and
typically not present for the birth. Until
the 1970’s men were not usually present during birth in America. I think this is slowly changing here in
Korea. Foreign women usually can have
their husband present as he can serve as a translator.
~some hospitals keep your baby in the nursery for the first
24 hours after birth so the mom can rest, it is part of the recovery process
~typically the mom should restrict her movement for the first
2 weeks after giving birth they actually have mommy hotels where moms with
their newborns can stay. Some people
stay one to two months or more. The people that work there help you with the
baby while you recover, and teach you how to care for the baby.
~usually the mother has seaweed soup for several meals a day
for a month. Seaweed is high in iron so
it is probably to help your iron gets back to normal levels.
~usually you do not get a private room once you give birth,
unless you request one which cost more money
~for the first month after birth if you choose not to stay at
a mommy hotel, traditionally you stay with your mother or mother-in-law. If you have a boy your mother-in-law may
pamper you because it is someone to carry on the family name.
There are lots of other culture differences during pregnancy
and childbirth. I have spent a lot of time reading online about Korean births so basically this is information I have gathered from what I read. I just wanted to a little bit of what I read with you. I don’t think any of these
things are wrong they are just different then the way that we know.
Anyways back to the thing I am thankful for this Friday… and
that being life! The life that was born
at 5:30 this morning and weighing 9 pounds and 2 oz and 22inches long. Here is a picture of Philip Colton Hartman
the newest addition to my brother’s family. Have a great weekend everyone.