Recently a lot of our friends have been having babies. The other day I visited my friend at the hospital and I noticed she was drinking iced juice. My Korean radar went out as my mind has been fed with the notion that mothers postpartum are not supposed to drink anything cold. Koreans believe that the body needs to be kept "warm" and the mother is to avoid anything cold, including taking a shower. My mother in law would always say that if I don't practice keeping my body warm, then I will have body aches the rest of my life when it is "cold."
However, the most widely practiced Korean belief with regards to postpartum care would be the consumption of seaweed soup (Mi yuk gook). I often hear stories of my friends who are so tired of eating Mi yuk gook but are forced to continue eating it by their Korean mothers .
I have included a great article written by Joong Ang Daily News regarding the traditional practices on postpartum care in Korea. Click here for the actual article.
