New York Times spotlights the culture of postpartum care in Korea
Source: Wikitree via Instagram
[+100] In the US, the husbands will help out with postpartum care right next to you. I also think westerners in general have a larger frame with smaller babies whereas Asian women have smaller frames with bigger babies. The damage from child birth is a lot bigger for us. I remember my father-in-law calling postpartum facilities a waste of money and looking at him like he was ridiculous.
- [+4] Then how do you explain all the mothers who gave birth in our country for 5,000 years without these facilities?
- [+19] ^ Our ancestors had huge families to look after the mother, we are now down to nuclear families
- [+57] ^ A lot of them still died while giving birth and in postpartum~ and even if they did survive, a lot still suffered from the side effects of birth as well. Please don't say such ignorant things again.
- [+3] Then why are there only postpartum facilities in our country out of all the billions of people in the world?
- [+17] ^ It's becoming more of a thing in more countries too ㅎㅎ and foreign countries already have systems in place like babysitters and midwives.. It's really annoying how Korean women are treated like they're greedy for wanting something that other countries have too, just in different ways
[+71] Asian women have smaller hips but their babies have bigger heads so child birth in general is a huge risk and requires more postpartum care. Foreign journalists should do more research before passing judgment on stuff like this ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[+92] I actually think this is a part of our culture that puts us ahead of other cultures. There are a ton of foreign women who still suffer from the side effects of inadequate postpartum care in their 40s and 50s, and most foreign women are jealous of the postpartum care Korean women receive. Our postpartum care practice is the wisdom of our ancestors being passed down all the way to us. Back then, they used to have huge families come take care of you, but we're down to nuclear families now and have replaced the support of a larger family with postpartum facilities. You seriously cannot expect a recovering mother to also take care of a newborn too.
[+39] After having three kids of my own, I now see why postpartum facilities are necessary. I've given birth both in the US and Korea, and while the US has a great birthing system in place, their postpartum care lacks in things like food. I skipped the usual seaweed soup for greasy things like pizza and hamburgers while in the US and struggled with milk production. For my second birth, my mother came over with seaweed soup and lots of great banchans for postpartum care and my milk production was amazingly higher. Korea definitely has a lot more wisdom when it comes to postpartum care and it's definitely a needed aspect of care for every new mother.
[+76] Okay, the New York Times journalist equating the high cost of postpartum facilities with our country's dropping birth rate is a ridiculous analysis... you seriously can't think that's a reason
- [+13] I actually think it's a fair analysis... it just shows how much money goes into not only raising a child but even giving birth to one
[+6] Postpartum care facilities should be government run and offered to every new mother in the nation
[+15] I mean, there are a lot of cheaper facilities than the specific one the journalist decided to spotlight... ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[+13] People need to realize that taking care of your health postpartum is just as important as during pregnancy
[+2] ㅋㅋㅋ Sure, that journalist and all the westerners can give birth and enjoy their chocolate pudding, I guess. There are plenty of cheaper facilities here, the one in Gangnam is just for those who have the means for it ㅋㅋㅋ
[+3] People that put down postpartum care seriously piss me the f*ck off. It's obviously judgment passed by people who have never had to grow a baby in their body for 10 months, spend overnight in extreme pain fighting for your life, and experienced the reality of having no one on your side to help you out while you take care of a newborn for 100 days. Only after you've gone through that should you have the ability to pass any opinion or judgment on postpartum anything.
[+1] I don't expect westerners to know anything about postpartum care... 😢
[+2] I can understand westerners feeling like these luxury facilities are too expensive, but basic postpartum care is a necessity for everyone ㅜㅜ..
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