Signs of an upcoming birth. How to find out about the upcoming birth: the main signs. Signs of early childbirth
A pregnant woman among the people enjoyed additional attention: she was released, if possible, from hard work and tried to satisfy her requests for food and drink, failure to fulfill her desires was considered a sin. It was believed that she was able to bring happiness: she was willingly treated to apples, because if a pregnant woman tastes the fruit from a young apple tree that brought the harvest for the first time, this apple tree will bear fruit abundantly all its life.
The pregnant woman was endowed with the ability to infect others, so she should not visit other people's families, and if she did, then only using special precautions. She could not be invited to be a godmother - it was believed that if she became a godmother, then her godson would not live.
Signs and customs for pregnant women
A boy will be born if the last child in the family does not have hair ending in a pigtail at the neck; when the father of the expected child on the road finds a whip; when someone from the family, running out with a weaving rod, sees a man first; when a child, seated at the table, chooses from the things laid out in front of him some belonging of a man, and not of a woman, for example, a pipe, not a handkerchief.
The pregnant woman was also not supposed to kiss the dead man at parting and accompany him to the cemetery.
During pregnancy, a woman could not work on any account. church holidays- violation of this prohibition by a pregnant woman, as they believed, would inevitably have an effect on the newborn.
Birth of a child
Both a pregnant woman and a woman who had just given birth were considered unclean, so even in winter she went to give birth away from her home - in a bathhouse, a barn, a barn (more often in a bathhouse that was heated). However, from the barn, the woman in labor, having been relieved of the burden, went to the bathhouse and often drowned her herself if she had no one to help. They did it differently: at the time of childbirth, all the household left, only the husband and midwife remained with the woman in labor, who tried to alleviate her suffering.
Not a single peasant family could do without a midwife (as it was also called, navel cutters, umbilical cords, navel cutters). Usually she lived or spent most of the day with the woman in labor for three days: she bathed the woman in labor and the child (the midwife had to leave only after three baths), gave her decoctions of various medicinal herbs, ruled the belly that had fallen after childbirth, spoke to the baby for longevity. But her main duty was to ensure that no one spoiled the child or the woman in labor, since before baptism the child, and with him and his mother, were considered unprotected from any damage. Therefore, the midwife was with the woman in labor and the newborn in the bath (a place, according to the peasants, very unclean), did not leave them when strangers visited them. If there was not a single adult woman in the house, except for the woman in labor, then she played the role of the hostess until the woman in labor could work herself. If the born child was weak, sickly, the midwife could christen him. To do this, the holy water was diluted with plain water, she watered the baby three times with the words: “In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen, ”and gave the child a name. In the event that the child remained alive, the priest completed the ceremony without immersion in water and called the name given by the midwife. The midwife could not refuse a request to come to a woman in labor: her refusal was regarded as an unforgivable sin that could entail immediate punishment.
When the woman in childbirth recovers sufficiently and the grandmother finds it possible to leave, the purification of all those present and taking any part in the birth took place. They lit a candle in front of the icons, prayed, then with water in which they put hops, an egg and oats, they washed themselves and washed the baby. While washing the puerperal, the grandmother sometimes said to her: “Like hops are light and strong, so be the same; as the testicle is full, so are you fuller; as oats are white, so be white!” When the midwife was washing the child, she would say: “Grow from a beam of height and from an oven of thickness!” This rite is often called the washing of hands: usually, mother and grandmother poured water, into which various objects carrying a certain semantic load, were poured three times on each other’s hands and asked for mutual forgiveness, the grandmother was awarded a gift (usually soap and a towel, sometimes money). After that, the midwife could go to receive the next child. The midwife returned to the mother's house on the eve of the fortieth day after the birth of the child: she had to gird him and remind the mother of the need for a cleansing prayer. The belt with which she tied the child was considered both as a magical amulet against evil forces and as a sign of longevity and health. The midwife used to say: “As the cord is long, so you live; like a white cord - so be it for you: to see paradise, but not to be in sorrows. The belt symbolically divides the human body into two halves - earthly and heavenly, impure and pure - and performs the function of protection from evil forces. It was believed that an unbelted child could die. The modern custom of tying a blanket in which a newborn is wrapped with a pink or blue ribbon comes from the customs of the royal house of the Romanovs: the born Grand Duke was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (blue sash), and the Grand Duchess was awarded the Order of St. Catherine (red sash).
On the fortieth day, a mother with a newborn, according to the rules of the church, entered the temple: the mother listened to a cleansing prayer, and the baby was churched, that is, introduced into the community of believers.
Signs and customs for pregnant women
No one should know that a child is about to be born: childbirth is the more difficult, the more people know about them.
There should be no knots on the clothes of the woman in labor and her husband, then the birth will be easy. In the house it is necessary to unlock all the locks, open all the doors and drawers, undo the braids.
In the bath, midwives prepared water from the lessons - one of the most powerful means of folk magic. For this, river water was used, the grandmother specially went after it with a clean bucket and always scooped it up along the river. Returning from the river to the bathhouse and saying the Jesus prayer, she immersed her right hand in a bucket and, scooping up a handful of water there, lowered it down her arm through her elbow into the prepared container, whispering: “Just as water does not rest on the elbow, so on the servant of God ( name) neither lessons nor prize-winners hold on! At the same time, she kept counting up to nine with a denial - not one, not two, not three, etc. Thus, she scooped up water on her elbow three times. With a prayer, the grandmother lowered three red-hot coals into this water. Then, with a handful of the right hand through the elbow of the left, she poured this water three times onto the outermost stone of the heater, then three times onto the door bracket, holding the container so that the spilled water again flowed into it. At the same time, the grandmother would say every time: “Just as water does not hold on a stone (or bracket), so do not hold on to the servant of God (name), neither lessons nor prizes!” After that, the water was considered so strongly charmed that not a single sorcerer could destroy its healing power. Then the grandmother put the puerperal face to the east - if only she could stand, otherwise she put her on the bath threshold and sprinkled her face three times with the water she had filled in her mouth, saying: “Just as water does not hold on the face, so on the servant of God ( name) don’t hold on to lessons or prizes! Having poured out the remaining water from the tuesa on the head of the mother, the grandmother collected the water as it fell from the head into the right handful and sprinkled it on the heater from under her left foot.
For easy childbirth, a woman should go around the table three times, on the corners of which heaps of salt are poured. She must eat a few grains from each of them, saying: “You, salt, are holy; you, salt, saline; you, salt, are strong; part, salt, let go of my ailments, that in animal bone, in black blood; sweeten all the stabs and pains at a difficult time, and I, a slave (name), pray to God, caress my womb, wait for a baby from you soon.
To facilitate childbirth, it is necessary to light a passionate or Thursday candle (brought from the church on Good Friday or Maundy Thursday), or a wedding candle in the house.
10.09.2012
Every expectant mother wants the easiest possible delivery. Still would! After all, we are talking about childbirth not only about the health of the mother herself, but also about the health of the baby.
The healthier the birth process was, the less unpleasant surprises in the form of consequences after childbirth can be expected in the future. Our ancestors were well aware of this and created a whole set of laws, which we now call signs, in order to protect the child and expectant mother from negative consequences in childbirth.
The very word "sign" takes its roots in the word "notice" - that is, to notice something. From the noted conclusions were drawn, many of which are confirmed by modern practice, both obstetric and therapeutic. Well, for example, everyone knows that pregnant women should walk a lot. Popular wisdom adds to this the advice to eat less and sleep less, more physical labor. But, signs are added - do not wear heavy weights and do not overtighten the belt of the skirt. How, how did they know this, having no idea about the internal structure of the body? And here - noticed. And food was advised to limit, so that the child would not be too big and it would be easier to give birth.
It was impossible to look at the fire, go to wakes, funerals, look at the disabled and holy fools. They believed in imitative magic - that is, that like attracts like. And if the future mother will look at all this, then the child will be born either dead, or with a “burn” on her body, or with a serious illness. Although, in principle, modern ideas have not gone so far: expectant mothers are advised to look at the beautiful, listen to the classics and enjoy life. It was strictly forbidden to swear with the expectant mother - otherwise the birth would be difficult, nervous, painful, and the child would then be angry and nervous. Modern obstetric science also confirms this.
Now about signs that seem to have no basis. You can’t step over a ball of thread, through a rope, raise your hands high, throw something heavy back over your head (for example, a sheaf). Reminds modern prohibitions for expectant mothers to wash windows and doors, doesn't it? Balls of thread and rope are tied to the umbilical cord and possibly around the neck of a newborn baby. Throwing weights over the head - with premature discharge of water and the corresponding consequences. On the later dates it was also forbidden to kick livestock under the stomach or pull it somewhere: in this case, they expected a protracted birth.
In some regions, it was generally considered unlucky to meet a pregnant woman on the street. Therefore, pregnant women for long periods were mostly at home or not far from it - which thus protected them from the notorious birth in the field (which was much less than we are told). This sign, of course, did not refer to family or friends and relatives, but to strangers.
Undoubtedly, such a huge number of signs is also associated with a huge number of deaths in childbirth or after them - both children's and maternal. And magical thinking, as well as magical ways of controlling reality, helped our ancestors, if not physically, then psychologically, to protect themselves from the upcoming event, or rather, not from the event itself, but from negative consequences. And despite the fact that the main modern sign for an easy birth is a preliminary agreement with a midwife and a doctor, a number of folk signs have been confirmed by research. Therefore - the safe and God saves. If any of these signs sunk into your soul, it certainly will not be worse for anyone from observing it.
Easy childbirth!
Christina Vyazovskaya
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01/15/2011 Restoring the body after childbirth |
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09/15/2010 Husband during childbirth: is it necessary? |
There is a belief that the name of the child should be kept secret until the birth. Since ancient times, it was believed that evil spirits, having learned the name of the child, would harm him and complicate his birth.
Most folk signs for easy, quick delivery have a rationale.
Notes from grandmothers
Conspiracy for easy childbirth
Women try to adhere to signs for easy and quick childbirth.
There is a sign that to relieve pain during childbirth, it is necessary to open windows and doors, cabinets, untie knots on belts and ropes. How to clear the way for a child to come to new world life.
In ancient times, to relieve pain, a woman in labor was forced to chew her own scythe.
You should not tell anyone that childbirth has begun in order to avoid torment for the souls of everyone who has learned about the birth that has begun.
Lit wedding candles in front of the icon, according to beliefs, drive away death.
For the quick birth of a child, midwives sprinkled the birth canal with sugar.
Folk signs also say that a mother will love her child less if the birth is easy and quick. It's hard to believe though! How can a mother love more or less her child.
To relieve the pain, the husband of the woman in labor should remove the shoes from her right leg and untie the belt, and the husband should also touch his wife's back with his knee.
In order for the delivery to be quick and easy, for three days after the woman is sent to the maternity hospital, nothing should be taken out of the house where she lives.
In the old days, it was believed that if you pour ice-cold water around a corner on a woman expecting a baby, this is “for an easy birth”.
In order to give birth without pain, a pregnant woman should bite off a crust of black bread, swallow it and say: Bread, Mother of God looked at you? Did you endure bodily pain during your birth? So I would look like that and not endure the agony during my birth.
In order for the birth to go quickly, you need to throw your veil and step over it several times.
To avoid premature birth, a pregnant woman should not raise her arms high when hanging clothes.
So that the baby does not get tangled in the umbilical cord, it is not recommended to knit or sew during pregnancy. What is associated with the node representation. It was believed that the knot ties the child out into the world. However, some pregnant women like to knit and sew and are skeptical about such a sign.
A woman's belief in conspiracy words, signs and beliefs helps her psychologically during childbirth, and the moral support of relatives and her beloved husband guarantees a successful and easy birth.
A look at modern medicine signs
Modern obstetrician-gynecologists, listening to such arguments of modern expectant mothers, come to quiet horror and agree only that you should not step over obvious obstacles - for example, jump over ditches and climb over fences, which can provoke a divergence of the bones of the symphysis or simply lead to leg injury.
Superstitions for pregnant women are a big field of fantasy. However, the wisdom of the ancestors regarding this important period has come down to our days. It is worth taking a closer look at the beliefs and understanding which ones have a rational basis, and which ones to bypass.
In the article:
Folk signs for pregnant women
Waiting for a baby is the highest happiness in life, and it is natural that a woman wants to give birth to a healthy child. Given the state of the body and bursts of hormones, she becomes more anxious. And therefore, will pay attention to all the signs. Signs for pregnant women can be divided into groups: what can and cannot be done in position. Below we will tell about them in more detail.
Boy or girl
Traditionally, they try to guess the sex of the child by the shape of the abdomen. A girl is in a wide and round one, and a protruding and sharper one indicates a boy. The stomach "looks" to the left to Masha, and to the right - to Sasha. Another interesting option sex determination offers to the expectant mother pay attention to the hair on the legs. Increased hairiness - wait for the boy, bare feet- a girl.
There is an opinion that if at the time of conception the couple is in official marital relations, they will have a daughter, otherwise - a son. Daily sex during pregnancy increases the chances of a female child, and intermittently - male. Interestingly, everything can be a decisive factor in determining the sex of a small person. For example, father-to-be's loose underwear will cause the birth of a daughter, and tight - a son.
- If you sleep with your head to the north, there will be a boy, to the south - a girl.
Feeling cold in the legs during pregnancy also indicates the birth of another man. Another, no less interesting sign: if a woman flourishes in a position, wait for a hero, if she becomes silly - a princess. The mother of the baby wants plant food all the time, and the baby wants milk and meat.
- A swollen nose and a swollen face are a sign of a male.
By the nipples folk wisdom also knows how to determine the sex of a child. If their color has changed to a darker side - run for pink booties, in the light - for blue ones.
- A girl is more likely to cause toxicosis than a boy.
- But the hero provokes the appearance of hair on the abdomen, and the princess - age spots.
An accelerated heartbeat, as well as an increased temperature, indicate that you will have a son, and a slow and low temperature - get ready for a daughter.
Folk signs about pregnancy - what not to do and why
If the expectant mother pricks herself and gets scared while sewing or cutting food, this can cause appearance of moles in a child. Therefore, folk signs forbid the use of a needle and a knife by pregnant women. The same applies to touching the face. Touch it less often if you do not want the baby to form birthmarks. Another belief forbids a woman during pregnancy to stand on the threshold. Among the Slavs, it was considered the line between the worlds. Long stay on this border can harm the baby. You can not step over brooms and logs. It was believed that this would offend the brownie, and regardless of the state of health and the events taking place in life. There is a separate sign about cats with which it is forbidden to play a woman in position.
In our time, doctors have explained this superstition with a disease. toxoplasmosis that a pregnant woman can get from a cat. There is a special analysis that detects this disease in the early stages. Future mother it is worth reducing the consumption of red berries, as the child will "red" skin, which is now known as diathesis. To avoid the evil eye folklore forbids a pregnant woman to tell her friends and relatives about her situation. The same applies to the name that the parents chose for the baby.
- Weaving knots can cause difficult childbirth, as the knot is considered a symbol of a dead end.
You can not sleep on your back - this makes it difficult for the fetus to breathe. The habit of sitting cross-legged interferes with blood circulation and can cause vein disease in the mother and crooked legs in the child.
Modern superstitions during pregnancy
It is not recommended to cut and dye your hair while you are expecting a baby. Hair is a symbol of vitality, and the shorter it is, the less it is. As for the paint, it used to contain a large number of substances harmful to the baby, which cannot be said about modern products. Photographing during pregnancy is not recommended. This ban is explained by the fact that the photo leaves the expectant mother and her developing child in static. The Church has also contributed to the superstitions about pregnant women by banning medical sex determination and suggesting trust God's will in this matter.
From this article you will learn:
Expecting a long-awaited baby, the expectant mother is extremely shy and trusts everything that “experienced” women say. But is it worth believing in all the signs for pregnant women that we hear from the so-called well-wishers, or a small “filter” in our head will not interfere with us in any way. Let's find out!
So, let's start with the fact that all popular signs and superstitions about women in position and future babies are the result of many years of observation, which can be confirmed or refuted by scientific data.
Boy or girl
The most interesting are the signs indicating the gender of the unborn child.
So, for example, a woman who suffers is likely to give birth to a girl, and a pregnancy that proceeds "without problems" will end in the birth of a boy.
Meat lovers are predicted to have a son, while those with a sweet tooth will rejoice at their daughter.
The belly is sharp - wait for the heir, and rounded - the heiress.
If the first movement of the fetus was felt in the right side of the abdomen, a boy will be born, if in the left - a girl.
Folk signs before childbirth
It was folk signs before childbirth that most often caused fear in pregnant women. Not only was the process of giving birth to a baby, to put it mildly, not pleasant, but also grandmothers with their advice completely tormented the future mother.
It was believed that childbirth would go badly or be life-threatening if something was given from home to someone within three days from the moment the woman in labor leaves for the maternity hospital.
Also, until the young mother arrives from the hospital, it is impossible to close the windows and doors in the house.
Of course, someone will say that all this is nonsense, but someone may think about it. One thing is clear, you should not focus only on signs, because the period of pregnancy is a unique and unforgettable part of our life, so let's not overshadow it with dubious attitudes and negative thoughts. After all, the most important thing is the health of the unborn baby, which you need to start taking care of long before conception, and folk signs do not always and everywhere work, so you should not pay your precious attention to them, you have much more important worries, right?