Birth Hotels

Summer is the busiest time of the year for the public librarian (I'm essentially a public librarian for the base community).  When the kids are out of school, they tend to come to us.  To capitalize on this, most libraries host some kind of summer reading program.  Ours involves giving out incentives to kids (and adults) for reading a certain number of hours, as well as weekly craft programs.  This year, the program did really well.  It felt like every kid in the community was involved, or at least everyone who came into the library.  Needless to say, it was wonderful for us to have so much of the community participating in a library event.  Many parents told me how much they loved the program.  It was also very stressful.  I imagine retailers feel the same way about Christmas.  So after we capped off the program with a big party last Saturday, I found myself remembering that there are other things going on in my life, like the little person who stubbornly reminds me of his presence at all hours.  This person  that Bobby and I will be responsible for for eighteen years.  He won't show up for a good twelve to fifteen weeks, but I've started researching babies during most of my free time.  Like many librarians, I like to research every aspect of something before I do it.

I have discovered some interesting things about Korean babies.  Birth, like many other things, is a family affair here.  That doesn't mean the entire family packs into the birthing room.  It does mean that women rely on their mothers and mothers in law to take care of their newborns.  New Korean mothers leave their babies in the nursery most of the time.  Rooming in with the baby was my hospital's "western" option.  When they get out of the hospital, the women go to the adjacent "birth hotel," where they rest, exercise, and generally recuperate.  They tend to stay for 21 days, while mother or mother in law helps with the baby.  After they go home, it's full speed ahead.  Men who cook and clean are anathema here.  I see a lot of younger men toting babies, so I think that men have assumed a larger role in child rearing than they used to have.  My middle aged male staff, despite having children, seem to know little about them.  My younger staff member watches his kids on his days off while his wife works.

Bobby is stressed out about the slipper situation.  In the birthing area, you have to surrender your shoes for the hospital's slippers.  Like all Korean slippers, these go about halfway down Bobby's feet.  I told him to be sure and put on clean socks when we go to the hospital, but he's planning to buy a pair of slippers and autoclave them.  He thinks this will be enough to convince hospital staff to let him bring them into the birthing area.  We'll see!