Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts – the winter flu hit me hard this year!
Lately it seems that so many people around me have a bun in the oven (aka are pregnant). I’ve noticed a trend that they all have different opinions on what to eat, what is safe to use on your skin, what is a safe amount of exercise, when to travel, not to travel…the list is endless. Of course this all comes from a good place – wanting to care for their little ones.
The funny thing is, this is different in different cultures. For example, in some it’s not ok to eat fish; in others it’s encouraged. The same can be said for cheese, spicy food, nuts, etc.
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But I’ve recently discovered another difference in other countries that I find fascinating.
In India and China, it is illegal to find out what the gender of your unborn baby is. The reason for this is that these cultures traditionally preferred boys to girls and this idea still exists in some areas. Making it illegal to check the gender means they can hopefully prevent some of the cruel practices carried out to induce abortions etc.
*In Australia, where it’s ok to find out the gender, a lot of my friends choose not to – they want to enjoy the surprise. On the other hand, discussing this with friends who have moved from India to Australia, they definitely want to find out, because of the sole reason that they can! Amazing how humans always long to do what we are not permitted to. It makes me wonder what other decisions we make that are influenced by the unseen decisions of others, like our governments and our cultures.
What do you think?