Little Gems: Marvels and Musings on Motherhood from Around the World

By Jane Langley, Bridget Fogarty and Becky Ollivier

"An old Russian proverb claims that labor will go more smoothly if both parents-to-be confess the names of all their previous lovers. So all that screaming and yelling you hear in the delivery suite? It might not be pain related.”
When it comes to childbirth and child rearing, what can other cultures teach us about motherhood? And what can we learn from the way our great grandmothers did things? Many young women are looking to folk wisdom and folk tradition for guidance (just think of the rise in midwives, doulas, belly-binding, postpartum herb baths, and placenta smoothies). This book is full of little gems—customs, folklore, and cultural practices from around the world as well as the voices of contemporary mothers. This beautifully illustrated book is a delightful read with a good dose of humor and fun. It's a refreshingly different gift for new mothers. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Release date: Mar 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781524852351

Book preview

FOREWORD

Pregnant. With child. In the family way. Eating for two. Got a bun in the oven. Harboring a fugitive. Eating all the pies. Stowing a cling-on. Yep, it’s the way we all began, and yet when it happens to you, it somehow manages to be both utterly amazing and utterly terrifying. And that’s before you even give birth . . .

Being born is the first defining act of our identity in all cultures. A baby is born somewhere in the world every three seconds. But it’s the different practices around entering the world that are fascinating. What are the rites, rituals, and beliefs that surround this most basic and most magical act?

There’s an old saying, it takes a village to raise a child. We wondered what would happen if we made that a global village. What can other cultures teach us about motherhood? And what can we learn from the way our great-grandmothers did things?

Babies don’t come with instruction manuals. And nope, we’re afraid this book isn’t one either. But it may help you consider a few things. Like the importance of going easy on yourself, for starters. After all, if seven different cultures all believe you should stay home and rest for a month when baby is first born, then maybe they’re on to something.

It’s not only a very Western, but also a very recent idea that two days after giving birth you’ll be power-walking the stroller, downing lattes with your new mom group, and parading the new arrival around the office like a tightly swaddled new client.

Once you pause to consider that only 30 years ago, new mothers were encouraged to recover in the hospital for TEN DAYS after baby’s birth, you start to realize how quickly things have changed. That’s why we thought it was worth taking a look at the way other women around the world approach this same life-changing event.

This is not a PhD thesis. Rather than hardcore science-based facts, we like to