Pregnancy Taboos.

Hi there,
Before I go any further let me just say that everyone has different views on pregnancy taboos. This post is my 2 cents and based on my experience. Okay, so when new mothers finally get over their excitement and horror (believe me, no matter how planned a pregnancy is, you WILL feel at least a teeny tiny bit horrified) and tell their elders (parents, in-laws, etc) they will be bombarded with taboos or what we local call pantang. These taboos vary from the logical to the downright outrageous. Here are some of the ones that I have heard of:

Don't announce your pregnancy to other than those nearest and dearest to you before your pregnancy reaches 3 months.
It is feared that you might miscarry since the fetus is still at a delicate stage ( God forbid). Nanti palis2 keguguran, tekanan perasaan pula bila orang balik2 tanya how is your pregnancy kan?

Don't buy baby clothes until you have passed the 7th month mark.
The reason being almost same as above, takut si ibu depresi dan meroyan bila nampak barang baby sedangkan baby tiada (again, palis2 jauh2).

Don't sew/cut anything with scissors/go fishing
If you do this it is believed that your baby will get a cleft lip.

Don't step half way out the door then go back in.
It is feared that if you do this, you will face difficulty during delivery whereby your baby's head will not be able to come out fully but keep sliding back in.

Don't Tie a Knot
If you do so your umbilical cord would knot around your baby's neck.

Don't look at anything weird/ugly
If you do your baby would resemble whatever it is that you had looked at. We locals call it 'kapaingan'.

There are a lot more but I don't remember all of it. For the new mom's-to-be, I know it's easy to be over-whelmed with these taboos. You want so much to protect your unborn child to the best of your ability that you'd even surprise yourself at how superstitious you can become. Personally, I only accept the first 2, am on the fence about the last one and brush off the rest as old wive's tale. Ya Allah, please don't test me for saying this but I believe that Allah (or God, if you prefer) is the one who determines our Fate and the Fate of an unborn child, not taboos.

About having to wait for your 7th month in order to shop for baby clothes, I feel that when your pregnancy has hit the 5th month you're good to go. Some people wait until the last possible second to buy baby stuff. For me this practice sangat lah auta. Not only would you be more easily tired close to your delivery, you also won't have enough time to buy all the essentials. Memang ada la tu yg terlupa. Also, its going to cost a bomb to buy everything at once.

Basically just take taboos with a large pinch of salt. What's most important is to pray, take care of your health and hygiene as well as your temperament and attitude. Babies can sense your emotions even when they were in the womb. Like it or not, babies tend to have the characteristics their mothers had during pregnancy. Meaning if you acted like Cruella de Vil during pregnancy, you can safely expect a Tasmanian Devil-esque child. I joke, I joke but you get the picture right?

Act like this...

..and get this. Mau? 

What other pregnancy taboos do you know of? Do you believe in them?

Love,
Phoebe

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