pregnancy foods in other cultures

[Aimee]

I'm curious about what are considered healthful or traditional pregnancy foods in other cultures. Also traditional morning sickness cures.

Thanks - hope it's the right board!

[boogiebaby]

Ginger is good for morning sickness. Slice lots of fresh ginger and simmer it for 10 minutes. Then add sugar or honey and sip slowly. You can also suck on ginger hard candy, soft chews or just chew on a piece of fresh ginger.

[j2brady]

I had the opportunity to taste an Asian post-birth dish. Right after a woman gives birth she is given a dish of pigs feet and eggs cooked in Chinese black vinegar. It was very good and had a sort of sweet and sour teriyaki flavour. It wasn't quite the same but that is the closest I could compare it to.

Jenna

[dotMac]

Some cultures in Asia consider some foods to be "hot" and some "cold". This has nothing to do with temperture or spicyness and the exact foods vary by region and culture. During childbirth, it's believed there's a loss of "heat" and the cure for this is hot food. This is also why some women are more-or-less roasted after giving birth.

[Pei]

Yup! I was about to say the exact same thing. Some "temperatures are obvious." Peppers, meat, and ginsent are "hot." Cucumbers, ice cream, most fruit are "cold." I believe milk is "hot" no matter what temperature you serve it at.

All the foods mentioned below as Asian traditional childbirth foods (pigs' feet and eggs in vinegar, ginger) are hot foods. Women are discoraged from eating cold foods during and right after pregnancy (or in general, actually, especially during that time of the month--cold foods encourage cramps?).

Ironically, Asian women are also told to stay away from spicy foods during and after pregnancy. Too hot?