Summary: Cultural Differences Among Birthing Women

Cultural Differences Among Birthing Women Growing up as a kid with the background of being Vietnamese, I have a lot of knowledge about the superstitions and beliefs of what to do or not to do due to my cultural beliefs during certain occasions especially pregnancy. First, I want to say that Vietnamese cultural beliefs are very similar to Chinese because it has a strong impact toward our country. Even though the languages are different but very similar pronunciation same as for cultural beliefs, medical beliefs, customs, rituals, and superstitions. Therefore, I would like to discuss about the birthing process of the women in the Vietnamese perspective.
From our Asian perspective, unmarried women should never get pregnant because
Pregnant women tend not to take prenatal vitamins or extra supplements because it can harm the fetus from the cultural belief in “lus naturale”. Therefore, most of the women don’t take any special vitamins or supplements before pregnancy. Chinese medicines belief based on Yin and Yang energy forces same as for the Vietnamese culture. The Yin and Yang energy must be balance for a pregnant woman due to imbalance forces can disturb the health for the mother and fetus. There are many restrictions a woman must follow during pregnancy such as types of food and behaviors. Food is selected based on Yin and Yang. Hot foods are not allow or should be restricted because it can cause imbalance which resulting in fetus to not be healthy. Some of examples of hot foods are spicy food, unripe fruits, caffeinated drink, alcohol and more etc. Same as for cold foods in a variety of ice cream, cold drinks and etc. Acceptable foods should be poultry, fish, pork, vegetables, rice, eggs and ginseng. Most likely those foods need to rich in proteins because it would beneficial for the fetus and the mother healths. During pregnancy, many Asian women consume a variety of herbal soups (tonic soups) because it is very nutritious. These tonic soups take many long hours to cook under a strict supervision. For example such as Silkie (black) chicken soup. Silkie chicken contains many proteins including amino acids, vitamins and minerals. It is not the same breed as the original chicken. The tonic soup always include many ingredients that believe to nourish the body (lungs and blood systems), prevent fatigue, and enhance bone density. Therefore, it is the most recommended for women in their pregnancy or just in general. List of ingredients include Silkie chicken, ginger, red dates, mushrooms, and some certain Chinese herbs. The soup, itself, will be cook until the chicken is tender enough which