Last posts on newborn2024-03-28T16:05:41+01:00All Rights Reserved blogSpirithttps://www.hautetfort.com/https://www.hautetfort.com/explore/posts/tag/newborn/atom.xmlIndianSamouraihttp://www.indiandacoit.com/about.htmlBaby Samourai made-in-India – 6. In the pooltag:www.indiandacoit.com,2015-02-28:55474562015-02-28T08:00:00+01:002015-02-28T08:00:00+01:00 A t 6 o'clock we set foot (and wheelchair) for the delivery room to...
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/02/00/1531659328.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="media-4884222" style="float: right; margin: 0.2em 0 1.4em 0.7em;" title="" src="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/02/00/3244562130.jpg" alt="Bébé samourai - 6.jpg" /></a>A</span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">t 6 o'clock we set foot (and wheelchair) for the delivery room to attend the filling of the pool – apparently the sound of running water itself encourages the cervix to open up. And all of a sudden I was very far from the idea I had of water birth. Yes, curiously, despite the awful video, I still had romantic images of the thing. </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">First the image of a naiad frolicking in a hot water spring, her long hair covering her bare breast (reserved, the naiad), birds joyfully chirping in the surrounding trees. And splash, a small cry, and her baby is there, swimming around her. A natural childbirth, I thought, going back to the (hot) source. Looking back, I had overlooked that most births happen night – the outing in the jungle is immediately less romantic – and that I should probably go back to prehistory to find an ancestor who had tried this method, so maybe not so ‘natural’ after all. </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Another image I had, more 'modern', was of a five star bathtub, with bubbles, bath salts, scented candles, music and a glass of white wine. This vision almost made me eager to give birth! </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">But there, as everyone was busy setting up the whole thing and the horror of the situation was striking me in the face – I was going to have to go into this inflatable pool and suffer – I didn’t dare shout out to misunderstanding ("STOOOOP! Stop everything! I don’t want this! I and to go and lay on the table, I want the epidural!”</span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">). </span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">No, instead, I took off the horrible hospital gown and stepped into the pool. This is when the midwife offered to go pick up my sport bra. I was already in so much pain that I didn't care being in the pool with only my bra, nevermind, it was too much effort to change. She also offered to plug my MP3 but suddenly the slightest sound was painful to hear (so much for all the relaxation tracks I had downloaded!).</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Once in the water, the Gynec asked me if I the pain had reduced. Apparently she was expecting a positive answer and eager to please her, I nodded. “Yes it’s always the same!”, she was happy. In fact I was in so much pain that I could only sit in a corner, immobile, hoping that it would go away if I didn’t move a muscle. After an hour, to please the midwife, I tried another position. And spent the next hour immobile in another corner, but squatting. </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">I must have stayed 3 hours in the water. Small breaks I was taken out to pee in a portable toilet (despite the encouragement of the medical team, I could not bring myself to piss in the pool), and other fun stuff. Finally my Gynec surrendered: there was nothing to do, my cervix refused to go faster than the music and hot water was not accelerating its opening.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><em><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">(To be continued...)</span></em></p>
IndianSamouraihttp://www.indiandacoit.com/about.htmlBaby Samourai made-in-India – 4. Final preparationstag:www.indiandacoit.com,2015-02-24:55474492015-02-24T08:00:00+01:002015-02-24T08:00:00+01:00 I started my maternity leave a couple of weeks before due date. I had an...
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">I<a href="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/00/00/52952449.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="media-4884214" style="float: right; margin: 0.2em 0 1.4em 0.7em;" title="" src="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/00/00/3148105138.jpg" alt="India, birth,water birth,pregnancy,baby,infant,newborn,delivery,midwife,swaddling,swaddle,diaper,breastfeeding,hospital,fertility,contraception,sterilization" /></a> started my maternity leave a couple of weeks before due date. I had an exhaustive to-do list before becoming a parent: buy a decent fridge and washing machine (we already had the crib!), make peanut butter, finish watching Orange Is the New Black and treat myself with a haircut / manicure-pedicure. Because I thought I wouldn't have too much time to do it with the newborn and (it is very trivial and unlike me (put it on the hormones) but) I wanted to look decent on the photo where they put the baby on your chest. With the arrival of my parents and my mother-in-law, it took me a good full week to complete these operations... </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">I surprised my Indian relatives by going out alone (i.e. to have breakfast with a girlfriend) at D+1, then running the stairs up and down like a maniac at D+2. And I myself got my share of surprises, for example when my mother-in-law predicted me the delivery date indicated by the stars. Or when she told me that in Kerala, the new mother must spend the first ten days bedridden, to recover (cf Babies made-in-India - 3). At the end, I delivered in a complete astral chaos (or at least in the greatest contempt for astral predictions), and two days after I got back home, I was perched on a stool to reorganize the kitchen cupboards... Lets not see here any provocation ;) </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><em><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">(To be continued...)</span></em></p>
IndianSamouraihttp://www.indiandacoit.com/about.htmlBaby Samourai made-in-India - 3. Choosing the delivery methodtag:www.indiandacoit.com,2015-02-22:55474472015-02-22T08:00:00+01:002015-02-22T08:00:00+01:00 Pregnancy is fine but well, the time of giving birth did come at some...
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN"><a href="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/00/00/706537474.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="media-4884211" style="float: left; margin: 0.2em 1.4em 0.7em 0;" title="" src="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/00/00/159685026.jpg" alt="india,birth,water birth,pregnancy,baby,infant,newborn,delivery,midwife,swaddling,swaddle,diaper,breastfeeding,hospital,fertility,contraception,sterilization" /></a>Pregnancy is fine but well, the time of giving birth did come at some point. Not that I was in a hurry but, as I read somewhere, we never saw a 24-month pregnant woman!</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Determined to follow Mother Nature’s ways as much as possible (i.e. to avoid caesarean delivery), I let the British midwife to convince me to try to aquatic experience... She had nice arguments, like the relaxing effect of hot water which is a natural painkiller. </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Them, to support her theory, she found nothing better than showing me, like that, completely out of the blue, a video of a water birth at home. It was very, very hard for me not to burst into tears. And not of emotion before this miracle of nature, no. Of terror. I am still traumatized by this video, and the image of the huge woman with huge boobs giving birth in her living room, with her eldest daughter, husband, mother, dog around. </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Giving life to a child is supposedly the most beautiful thing in the world. But then why so much suffering huh?? The midwife, wanting to be reassuring, commented on the video: "you see, sometimes, she even smiles between two contractions”. Fantastic! </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Well, anyway, this pain I couldn't start to imagine it, so I focused on a detail that may seem trivial: the heavy breasts of this mother. Already, being myself very reserved, I was really worried about having my parts exposed to the entire human race during childbirth. And I had started seriously considering delivering all alone in my bathroom when the midwife added, as if she had read my mind: 'don’t worry, you can keep a spaghetti top or a sports bra. And to close the deal with this argument: “water birth is definitely the most intimate way to deliver a baby, because you are all alone in your pool, nobody to stare between your legs". Sold! </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">A few weeks before the D-day, I went to the pool of a hotel to test the waters... I was indeed curious to see if it would have the desired effect: everyone recommended me immersion to get relief, to feel lighter. I did not feel any lighter when entering the water... On the other hand I did feel heavier when getting out of it! But anyway, since I had no problems with gravity, I decided to not renew this experience...</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><em><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">(To be continued...)</span></em></p>
IndianSamouraihttp://www.indiandacoit.com/about.htmlBabies made-in-India - 5. Versus French waystag:www.indiandacoit.com,2015-02-10:55473892015-02-10T08:00:00+01:002015-02-10T08:00:00+01:00 Since there is nothing wrong in getting pampered, these customs of...
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN"><a href="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/01/01/2494354854.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="media-4884093" style="float: left; margin: 0.2em 1.4em 0.7em 0;" title="" src="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/01/01/1932275826.jpg" alt="india,birth,water birth,pregnancy,baby,infant,newborn,delivery,midwife,swaddling,swaddle,diaper,breastfeeding,hospital,fertility,contraception,sterilization" /></a>Since there is nothing wrong in getting pampered, these customs of returning to the maternal fold, staying at home and keeping bed rest persist through the ages and social classes. Several times I have asked colleagues, newly elevated to the rank of fathers, if they were not too tired. And got the reply “no no, you know, my wife and baby are at my in-laws, they’ll come back only after three months!". </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">New French mothers don’t have this luxury of a ‘safety period’ (although apparently (according to Tracy Hogg) British ones do, for 40 days as well) and they soon have to do everything alone: cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc, in addition to taking care of the newborn. That is what I tried to explain to my Indian circle: being an independent businesswoman and daughter of an independent businesswoman, I was genetically programmed (except for medical complication) to get on my feet very fast. And on top of that, with the 'services' we avail in India, i.e. maids, home delivery from shops and restaurants, it is even more manageable than in the West… </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">As for childbirth, fathers traditionally don't attend, as it was the case </span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">till the fifties</span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> in the West, where the necessity and benefits of the man's presence are still debated (but at least the choice is open). So in India, you usually have your mother or mother-in-law in the labor room...</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">After the delivery, help is generally required as some hospitals don't even serve food. </span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">So, my mother-in-law kindly offered to stay with us at night in the hospital (4)... As tradition has it, it was her role to get up at night when the baby would cry; not mine, nor her son’s or the nurses’. To pass me the child for me to feed him. Well, to be precise, it was the role of my mother, who was with us but obviously not keen to sacrifice her sleep! My mother must have seemed quite irresponsible by spending more time dragging her counterpart to shopping sprees every day rather than squatting our hospital room! In fact she was doing her job as the mother of the Samurai, meaning she ensured that the three of us would get some privacy all three of us… (And ‘Privacy’, ‘Intimacy’ are definitely not Indian concepts, even though they were the key words of our birth plan!!).</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"> </p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">The hospital that we had chosen was topnotch. Which means that not only did they serve food, but they also had </span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">a nutritionist and a lactation expert to help us in the transition. Also, </span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">by imposing strict visit timings</span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> they were 'pro-intimacy' (which is very innovative in India </span><span style="color: #203864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">because normally, once the baby lands in the world, the whole family comes visit. Imagine the chaos!). And a plethora of nurses was there to ensure we would not lack help and that our intimacy would not be too complete...</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">(4) In India, each patient has the right to have a relative sleeping over; hospital staff even looks at you like you are some kind of alien (a lonely alien (like most of the expats)) if you don't have anyone staying in your room. And I am convinced that this type of moral support helps healing.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><em><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">(To be continued...)</span></em></p>
IndianSamouraihttp://www.indiandacoit.com/about.htmlBabies made-in-India - 4. Namingtag:www.indiandacoit.com,2015-02-08:55473862015-02-08T08:00:00+01:002015-02-08T08:00:00+01:00 I was frequently asked, till the baby turned two months if we had...
<p><a href="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/01/00/1428294246.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="media-4884085" style="float: right; margin: 0.2em 0 1.4em 0.7em;" title="" src="http://www.indiandacoit.com/media/01/00/1313610178.jpg" alt="india,birth,water birth,pregnancy,baby,infant,newborn,delivery,midwife,swaddling,swaddle,diaper,breastfeeding,hospital,fertility,contraception,sterilization" /></a></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">I was frequently asked, till the baby turned two months if we had already chosen his name! </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Indeed, in India, the baby is named at the end of the safety period, generally 40 days. It gives time for the astrologer to find the name, or at least its first letter. Meanwhile, the baby is called baby, and evil spirits are kept at bay! </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">And if everything goes well, the family organizes at the end of the 40 days, a 'naming ceremony' during which the baby is introduced to the world and sweets are distributed to everybody they know (especially if it's a boy). It is usually on this occasion that <em>hijras</em> (cf my <a title="posts" href="http://www.indiansamourai.com/apps/search/?s=hijra" target="_blank">posts</a> on the topic) come to claim their due, ‘guarantee’ that the evil eye will be kept at bay. </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">I was not too happy when the watchman let them, by the way better informed than the municipality, come up.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">Some Indian local customs go even further by having the new mother observe complete bed rest (for example during the first 10 days in Kerala). During this period the new mums have nothing to do but get to know her baby and recover from this undeniably physical hardship. The idea seems good but hyperactive women might fear boredom...</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><em><span style="color: #203864; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-ansi-language: EN;" lang="EN">(To be continued...)</span></em></p>