Akari's case -2-

M, and Akari sleep on the second floor at night, and in the daytime they spend in the living room on  the first floor. In this case Akari sleeps in this cradle. I know it's called bouncer & cradle. In my time we didn't have one.

 

 "  Is it Japanese tradition for the new mother and baby to stay that long before and after the birth?  And, they want to know why?  Here, unless there are other small children already in the family that require care or there is surgery or other complications (such as compulsory bed rest before the delivery), it would be very rare to stay for that length of time...and usually the mother or mother-in-law would be at their home."

 

 Here in Japan, mothers stay in the hospital usually for from four days to one week.

And after that they go back  ---- it depends on the situation, to their home or their mother's home or their mother-in-law's home.

 

Anyway not so many husband take days-off to take care their babies. so mothers need someone to help themselves.

When they go back their home, usually their mother or their-mother-in-law stay for two weeks.

It is said it takes at least two weeks for mother's bodies to recover.

When they go back their mother's house or their mother-in-law house, and they had birth at a different hospital from a hospital they had gone to health check during their babies had been in their bellies, they stay there at least for one month. Because they have to go to the hospital where they had birth in one month after they had birth.

So my daughter will stay with us at least during August.

 

" Second question was about you paying for the delivery.  Is that also a Japanese tradition?"

It depends on the family. Most of cost (it costs from 5000$ to 7000$) is covered by maternity allowance. So the couple needs to pay at least 1000$ more.

Anyway most parents give celebration money  to them.

There is a tradition which is dieing out. If mothers stay at their mother's house, their husbbands' parents give some money to their-daughter-in-law's parents.

(Well, in my case, it didn't. And M's husband wanted to give some money because we take care "our daughter", but we didn't accept it.)

 

 

I've noticed that the decline in the number of children happens in not all developed countries. Why in Japan we have such a serious problem? (though we have the aging population problem in all  developed countries.)

Do all women want to pursue improving their carrier?

I don't think so.  We have a problem in the way to work.