Happy Baby & Taegyo

You’ve just found out that you’re pregnant?  Big congratulations!  You probably feel really excited, but at the same time you might feel anxious, weird or worried.  How will it feel having a baby inside?  Will I go through my pregnancy well?  What should I do to have a healthy baby? What kind of mom will I become?  Nobody has perfect answers for you, but there is a great suggestion regarding prenatal care from Korean society to help you have a happy, healthy and peaceful pregnancy.  It’s called taegyo(태교)!

Taegyo literally means fetus(tae) education(gyo). What kind of education could you do for the fetus? Well, it’s not the kind of  education with books and pencils doing writing or math. It’s more of practices that parents, mostly mothers are advised to follow during her pregnancy for their unborn baby’s development.

Taegyo is widely accepted and followed in Korea, and it is based on the idea that a fetus is already a human being and she is deeply connected to her mother in every aspect. Yes, it’s a baby, not an embryo or fetus. Actually, in Korea, a baby becomes one year old when she is born because the 9 months of the gestation are considered the first year. And during this first year, parents should try hard to provide the best possible environment for their developing baby just as they would do after the baby is born.

Here in America, there are certain kinds of practices that pregnant women do for prenatal development, too. It’s a common knowledge that the food that a mom eats directly affects her baby. Pregnant women are advised not to smoke or drink for this reason. Also, it’s not unusual that pregnant women listen to Mozart or read her baby books.

In Korea, it goes much further. It’s understood that what a pregnant woman watches, listens or reads affects her unborn baby. Right, no violent movies or loud death metals are recommended. They should try not to think evil things, look at ugly things or listen bad noise. They are advised to enjoy surroundings with beautiful sights, sounds and smells. They are encouraged to eat food that is fresh and well-produced. The purpose of all these practices is to provide pregnant women with peaceful and stress-free environment because this will provide the healthiest and soundest environment for the little human being in the womb.

What is Taegyo?

This entry was posted on Monday, January 3rd, 2011 under Taegyo Information.