Traditional Wisdom: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting Tips from A to Z

Discover timeless folk remedies for expectant mothers—before, during, and after childbirth—ensuring a vibrant, healthy glow. These practical insights are shared by experienced mothers, with hopes of success for all moms who apply them.

Below is a compilation of traditional tips for pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting from A to Z, for all the moms out there to explore.

1. Folk Remedies During Pregnancy:

Tips for a Clean and Easy Childbirth:

- Starting from the 5th month of pregnancy, regularly drink sugarcane juice for a clean and robust delivery. Consuming plenty of sugarcane in the last trimester helps the baby gain weight quickly, preventing tight skin during childbirth.

- Drinking coconut water and consuming fermented rice wine aid in a smooth and clean childbirth. Coconut water can be consumed from the 3rd month onwards to ensure ample amniotic fluid, resulting in a clear, fair complexion for the baby.

32nd-33rd Week of Pregnancy:

- Mothers consume steamed pig stomach with pepper to prevent teething issues and promote a healthy digestive system for their babies. This method, widely adopted by many mothers, has proven to be very effective. Follow the recipe below.

- Recipe for Steamed Pig Stomach with Pepper:

Prepare a small pig stomach and 1 ounce of peppercorns (or a bunch of fragrant green peppercorns with a moderately spicy flavor).

Clean the pig stomach, stuff it with peppercorns, and temporarily sew it with thread to prevent the peppercorns from coming out. Steam for about 30 minutes.

- When eating, consume only the stomach portion of the fish. Eat the entire stomach during the 32nd week and one week later (33rd week) have it once more. This ensures a healthy baby and mother, eliminating the need for digestive enzymes, tonics, or antibiotics.

Foods Pregnant Women Should Avoid:

- Sprouted vegetables and fruits contain harmful toxins for the fetus.

- Stimulating foods during pregnancy: coriander, green papaya, cat apples, ginger, chili, water spinach, and more.

- Absolutely refrain from drinking alcohol and smoking.

- Consuming plenty of snails during pregnancy results in increased mucus production for the baby.

- Fresh and dried bamboo shoots: blood purifiers

Nutrient-Rich Foods Beneficial for Expectant Mothers:

- Chicken eggs, duck eggs: result in a fair complexion, rosy lips, and intelligence for the baby.

- Carp fish: carp porridge aids in fetal development, provides nutrients, enhances intelligence, and brightens eyesight.

- Early Pregnancy: Drinking plenty of orange juice, consuming broccoli, and soybeans contribute to the holistic development and increased intelligence of the baby.

- Soy milk: beneficial for the health of both mother and baby, promoting smooth and soft skin for the baby.

- Warm water with honey every morning supplements nutrients for the fetus and helps prevent constipation for the mother.

5 Traditional Tips to Shape a Dimple for Your Baby:

Every mother desires her baby to have a cute and charming dimple. Therefore, mothers often share these tips to ensure their baby is adorable and charming!

- Gently touch the child's dimple: During pregnancy, mothers lightly pinch or rub the hands over a baby with a dimple. For boys, rub 7 times, for girls, rub 9 times. Ensure that no one else sees you doing this.

- Asking a child with a dimple: You can openly approach a child and ask, “May I have your cute dimple, please?”. If the child nods in agreement, their dimple will be just like that when they're born.

- Eating pomegranates: Simply consuming plenty of pomegranates during pregnancy will result in an adorable dimple for the baby.

- Stealing pomegranates: Instead of eating them, sneakily pick pomegranates from someone's house. The baby will be born with a desired dimple.

- Hanging 2 pomegranates in front of the house: Mothers gossip to each other about buying 2 pomegranates, hanging them symmetrically in front of the house, quietly ensuring that no one sees.

2. Compilation of Folk Tips for Easy and Quick Childbirth:

For Expectant Mothers – Secrets to Swift Delivery:

- At the 35th week, sitting on the toilet at a three-way intersection aids in easy childbirth. While this method may seem unconventional, many mothers have applied it successfully. Taking an evening stroll with your spouse, finding a deserted intersection, and using this method ensures a quick and relatively easy delivery.

- As the due date approaches, prepare a handful of basil leaves. When there are signs of impending labor, boil a bowl of basil water and drink it to facilitate a smooth and quick delivery.

- Before giving birth, hold a seahorse (used for soaking medicinal wine) in your hand. It makes childbirth easier and faster.

- When showing signs of imminent labor, have a family member prepare a cup of raw watercress juice. This helps expel amniotic fluid quickly, ensuring cleanliness and preventing residual greens.

- Prepare rice wine lees in advance. After giving birth, crush them and mix with wine/water for a refreshing paste applied to the breasts for 20-30 minutes, promoting faster and more abundant milk production. In the early days, if milk hasn't come in or the baby refuses to latch, mothers should try expressing colostrum for the baby. This first milk contains valuable antibodies and is essential for the newborn.

For New Mothers:

- Right after leaving the hospital postpartum, have lunch and dinner at home, then toast 1kg of salt in a rolled-up newspaper or fabric, press it onto the abdomen until it cools. This method helps the stomach shrink quickly, maintaining a petite and flat belly reminiscent of youth.

- If experiencing perineal tears during a vaginal birth, upon returning home, rinse with warm salt water 1-2 times a day. This reduces swelling, provides a clean and comfortable feeling, and promotes rapid healing of the incision.

- Mothers should breastfeed immediately after giving birth and avoid consuming oranges or fruits high in vitamin C, as it may cause diarrhea in the baby. Newborns often have loose stools from tomatoes and leafy greens, and mothers may not be able to distinguish them.

>> READ MORE: Menu for postpartum mothers with delicious, nutritious dishes for the baby

3. Folk Tips for Raising Children After Childbirth, Keeping Mothers Healthy and Children Well-Behaved:

Teething Without Fever

Place chewed mung beans in the baby's mouth at 3 months and 10 days, while doing so, recite the phrase, “Teeth grow like mung beans, growing teeth without a fever.” My child and many others I know grew four teeth at once without experiencing any pain or fever, just a slight decrease in appetite.

Right After Giving Birth, To Ensure Fragrant and Quick Milk Production:

- Boil a small amount of water with 7 jackfruit leaves (for boys), use a comb dipped in jackfruit leaf water to stroke down the chest right after childbirth.

 For Quick Milk Production After Childbirth:

Method 1: Mix white wine and yeast until soft, apply around the breast for 20 minutes. The warmth from the yeast and wine will quickly draw the milk ducts, making the milk ripe and more fragrant. Ensure effectiveness as many mothers have successfully applied it, resulting in abundant milk. If the baby suckles on the right side, the left side needs to be compressed, or the milk will flow everywhere. Alternatively, massage and knead each side for 15 minutes to clear the milk ducts and then wipe with a warm cloth.

Method 2: Consume dog's teeth grass, pork tendons, or coriander cooked with some other greens; your breast milk will become full and firm.

When the Baby's Umbilical Cord Falls Off:

Once the baby's umbilical cord falls off, mothers can apply coconut oil mixed with a little roasted and crushed alum. Cut small square-shaped cotton pieces, soak them in the mixture, and apply it on the baby's navel until it dries. One application is sufficient. This prevents stomachache, allowing the baby to eat various foods without discomfort, whether it's old or cold. In case of severe issues, giving a probiotic packet makes the baby healthy. These are some experiences I applied and found effective for my own child.

For Baby's Colicky Crying:

- Warm the betel leaves on the stove and place them on the baby's abdomen. Hold the baby against the mother's belly to transfer warmth. Shortly after, the baby will sleep peacefully and stop crying, especially effective for babies who cry at night due to excess wind and cold conditions.

- Crush 7-9 bìm bìm seeds, mix with warm water to create a sticky paste. Before the child sleeps, apply the paste on the navel and secure it with tape. You can find bìm bìm seeds at traditional medicine stores.

- If you have natural silkworms, pick up dead ones that are stiff (due to bacterial infection), curved, white-spotted, or with white patches, dry them, and store them for later use. Folk medicine calls this 'tằm vôi', while traditional medicine terms it as 'bạch cương tàm', 'cương tàm', 'cương trùng', 'thiên trùng'... When a child experiences night crying, before bedtime, crush a few silkworms, mix with a bit of alcohol, warm it up, and apply it to the soles of the child's feet, securing it with tape. Suitable for all types of infants with night crying.

Cleaning the Baby's Tongue

Grind watercress to extract the juice, add a little honey, and apply this liquid to the baby's mouth using a cotton swab. Steam the honey beforehand to ensure cleanliness.

You can use physiological saline solution to clean the baby's tongue effectively.

Treating Infant Spit-up

Find bamboo shoots (sharp young leaves at the tip of bamboo shoots) and boil them to make water for the baby to drink when experiencing spit-up. For boys, use 7 shoots, for girls, use 9 shoots.

My grandchild suffered from severe spit-up, even during rice porridge, there was constant regurgitation, sometimes more than ten times a day. The family was alarmed, took the child to the hospital but couldn't find the cause. Chinese herbal medicine and traditional medicine were also ineffective. Even the hired help quit after witnessing the child's condition. Surprisingly, the child responded well to this herbal remedy.

This remedy was shared by my husband, who heard about a case of a niece suffering from spit-up. During a gathering, a man shared that his child had a similar issue, and they successfully treated it with this method. Since then, whenever a baby has spit-up issues, we share this remedy, and it seems to work. Mothers, give it a try.

Infant Diaper Rash

Grind bitter melon or crush geranium leaves to extract water for baby baths. Personally, I find geranium leaves more effective than bitter melon.

Treating Coughs, Colds, and Sneezing

- Introduce roasted garlic to your baby as soon as you notice signs of a runny nose. Roasted garlic has a pleasant aroma and sweetness, making it appealing to the child. For young babies, give 1 clove; for older ones, 2-3 cloves. Administer 2-3 times a day based on severity, ensuring relief by the next day. Note: This remedy is effective for early symptoms like sneezing and clear runny nose, not suitable for advanced stages.

- Baby coughing: Steam kumquat (kaffir lime) and alum sugar (for those under 1 year, avoid honey) for the child to consume, helping relieve coughing and promote mucus expectoration.

Baby Constipation:

Break the tip of a water spinach shoot, remove the outer skin, and gently insert it into the baby's anus. Push in and out several times, and the baby will have a bowel movement. Avoid using pumps as they may cause harm to the delicate anus. Water spinach shoots are non-invasive and have a lubricating effect on the baby.

Baby with Diarrhea:

- If your baby has persistent diarrhea, buy a bottle of slaked lime water, and give a few drops to the baby twice a day. Just 2 days, and the problem will be resolved.

Baby Teething Issues: In the first week after birth, buy a piece of pork fat, heat it slightly in warm water, and let the midwife drink it. Apply a small amount to the baby's mouth using a cotton swab. After consuming 3-4 times, the baby will not experience teething pain, and it helps with later teething discomfort.

Baby with Diarrhea: If the baby is breastfed, the mother should eat carrots, green bananas, and brew guava leaves as tea to drink. In case of diarrhea, the mother should consume carrots, green bananas, and brew guava leaves as tea. If the baby is already eating, feed these items to the baby.

Baby after Vaccination without Fever:

- Before taking the baby for vaccination, the mother buys fresh basil leaves, cleans them, eats about ten stems—eating more is better. After vaccination, continue feeding to prevent dehydration. The antibiotics in basil help prevent the baby from getting a fever.

- If the baby is formula-fed, the mother crushes basil leaves with warm water and gives it to the baby.

- After vaccination, use a cotton swab to gently press the injection site until dry. Then apply a cold compress with a cloth stored in a cooler bag for milk storage to keep it cool.

- Apply a fever-reducing patch to the injection site to make the baby feel less pain and reduce fever without fussing.

- When the baby has a fever, crush smartweed leaves and apply them to the soles of the feet, hands, and forehead. Alternatively, crush fish mint leaves and give it to the baby, or eat basil leaves while breastfeeding to help lower the baby's fever.

Baby with Diaper Rash:

- Before each nighttime breastfeeding, apply breast milk to the diaper rash area. Alternatively, use the back of a shrimp shell to gently rub on the affected area; the rash will disappear while the baby sleeps.

Some Tips for Parenting:

- When taking the baby out, bring garlic, a knife, or scissors. Some people even carry a ladle to clean the baby's utensils.

- Place a metal object like a knife or scissors near the baby's head to prevent sudden movements. In the South, some mothers make a necklace from mulberry silk for the baby.

- When the baby is around 3 to 4 months old, occasionally pretend to offer a spoon or fork to the baby while eating. This helps the baby transition to solid food more easily, and as the elders say, 'quickly learns to eat.'

- To encourage walking in a slow-to-walk child, gently tap the legs with a banana (male child: 7 taps, female child: 9 taps), and they will learn to walk faster.

- When the child starts babbling, let them taste the soup while asking, 'Is it just right? Is it delicious?' This will help the child learn to speak quickly.

- If the child has a misshapen head, gently press it against the wall while saying, 'Lean your head against the wall,' 7 times for a boy and 9 times for a girl. The child's head will gradually round out. When my child was a month old, I didn't pay attention to turning the head, so now the head is a bit misshapen. Trying this method, I've noticed some improvement as the baby is now turning the head to the other side more often, and the head is slowly getting better.

If there's a problem with the fontanel, moms, keep these folk remedies in mind; you never know when you might need them. Although some of these folk remedies may be outdated, they contain valuable and practical experiences. Wishing all moms good health, beauty, and intelligence for their little ones with these A to Z folk remedies for pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing!

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