How does treatment of a new mother differ among cultures?
I have a friend (who shall remain nameless) and she was very upset with her daughter-in-law who was from an Asian culture. When her first grandchild was born, she was very put-out because her daughter-in-law wanted mother-in-law to do everything for her... to do the cooking, to do the house-straightening, to take care of the baby. The new granny was very upset with her. She said "She's so lazy." I said "No, I don't think that's what it's about." What it's about is in many cultures in Asia, the mom goes to bed and the family takes care of her for one month. She stays in bed and they do everything. She interpreted it incorrectly thinking "Oh she's lazy, she doesn't know how to do anything." when in fact; she was doing something very traditional. When you think about it, it makes such good sense. If you get 30 days of being waited upon by everyone, it gives you a really good start because your body is really worn out. It's been a shock for you to have the baby and nine months of carrying it. It's very, very practical. In Cambodia, they call it mother roasting. During that time they have slatted beds and they put little, oh, I want to say like a little barbeque, like a little hibachi under the bed and then they keep turning the mom like this so that she takes in heat -- which it's believed that she lost a lot of heat from her body during the pregnancy and the child delivery, and now they have to restore the heat. They pile on blankets and it's just a way in which the community can help the new mom. They cook for her, they do everything for her. Of course in this society, you go back to work in six weeks.
