Today, I taught a student who is 8 months pregnant. Next week will be her last lesson, as she is going back to her hometown until April. I don't know a lot of details, but it seems like it's a custom for Japanese women to return to their mothers' homes to be taken care of for the first few months. Is this common in Canada?
4 comments:
well no, the last place I wanted to return to when I was pregnant for you was my mother's home !
More common, if there is a close relationship like Aunt Di & her kids, is that the mom(and sometimes dad) goes to the daughter's home for awhile & then goes back often and the daughter may also bring her baby and stay with the grandparents now and then. Also, here, if the man is a good daddy (like yours) he does a great deal to help with the new baby. Thus the dad bonds right away. (Julie)
i wonder if the choice of who moves where has to do with the social ladder. the pregnant daughter's father is in a more respected position than her husband. so, her mother needs to remain there to care for her husband. maybe i'll test my theory in next week's class.
So, what did you find out? I also asked Hitomi and she agreed that women traditionally went home to their mothers, even if they didn't have a good relationship. ( I am the one who carefully asked about the relationship issue). Hitomi went to her mom's for a month but her parents live in Matsuyama where Hitomi and Kanta also lived. So, Kanta would visit. However, she did tell me that when a new mom travelled away from her home , then the dad would probably not see his new baby the whole time (which could be longer than the one month).
Too early to say yet. My week starts in 1 hour, so I haven't yet taught her. I think I teach her again this Friday or next. I'll keep you updated. :)
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