by Asian Views

Created on: January 23, 2009

A Chinese baby is an entity by itself from the moment of conception thus at birth the child is deemed as being 1 year old. From the moment the pregnancy is confirmed, the mother is subjected to many traditional dos and don'ts.

The most common of these is the food factor. A pregnant woman's cravings, no matter how bizarre, has to be catered to, lest the child is born with a drooling predisposition. Though the cravings are tended to, any craving for foods that are considered not to be good for the child are only eaten with moderation in the belief that the taste of that food will have staved off thatdrool factor. Foods that are classified as being too heaty or too cooling are deemed not good as these foods are able to cause a miscarriage in women with a weak countenance.

The confirmation of pregnancy is kept quiet and only made known among family and close friends to guard against the evil eye by jealous entities. The early stages of pregnancy are considered the most sensitive and expectant mother is treated with kid gloves. She is not allowed to do anything menial, lift anything heavy or walk around a lot as all these might cause a miscarriage.

The marital bed is not to be moved during the whole pregnancy term as any such movement may affect the foetus and cause a miscarriage. Use of tools like the hammer or pliers in the house by the expectant couple is not encouraged as it may accidently cause a hare lip or blindness in the child. If it cannot be avoided, then the child must always be literally called upon to stay away. Chinese belief that the unborn child's spirit is already wandering around in the house and as it cannot be seen, we might hit or pull it by accident causing actual damage to the baby.

The expectant couple are also not encouraged to watch scary movies. Even though the child can be reminded that it is a movie and there is nothing to be afraid of, an unexpected scare could cause damage and the birth of a mentally disabled baby. The expectant couple are also to watch their behaviour and language if they want to birth a well behaved filial baby. In other words, the unborn child is to be treated as though it is already there by virtue of it's spirit wandering around the house.

These superstitions may seem far fetched but I think practising these restraints from the moment of conception is a good way to train young couples in having a young one in the house.

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