Taegyo

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Taegyo
Hangul 태교 Hanja 胎敎 Revised Romanization taegyo McCune-Reischauer t'aekyo

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Taegyo refers to a set of practices and beliefs related to prenatal development. It is said to be regulations that a mother should observe to have good effects on her unborn child during the period of maternity. Also it is the education occurring in the period of maternity and considered that when an expectant mother tries to be careful of everything, prudent in speech and action, and keep distance from evil thoughts, it affects the unborn child in good ways. In other words, Taegyo is all the effort for the mother to provide the best environment for the fetal development. This is based on the belief that fetal environment has a huge influence on the fetal development and the whole life of the baby.

Contents 1 Traditional Taegyo in Korea 1.1 Origins 1.2 Characteristics 2 The concept of Taegyo 3 Types of Modern Taegyo in Korea 3.1 Talking to the baby 3.2 Listening to music 3.3 Reading fairy tales aloud 3.4 Doing yoga 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Traditional Taegyo in Korea

[edit] Origins

Taegyo ideology was introduced from China at the end of the Goryeo dynasty and became more popular in the Joseon Dynasty. A famous scholar, Sajudang Lee (사주당 이씨 師朱堂李氏 1739 ~ 1821) wrote a book titled Taegyosingi (태교신기 胎敎新記) in 1800^[1], and which stresses the ten-month education in the mother's womb more than the ten-year education after that. Her ideology to respect the unborn child precedes "western" ideology to respect children and her opinion, which is that child development foundation after the birth is formed in the mother's womb, precedes modern child development theory.

[edit] Characteristics

1. The embryo is considered as a personal body from the moment it is fertilized and is treated valuably. The way to count one's age in Korea reflects this ideology well. While about 280 days in the mother's womb are not added to the one's actual age in western, the 10 months are included in Korea when age is counted.

2. There are various model behaviors which pregnant women try to follow. The most popular model is called "seven attitudes" which was followed from the past and later put into writing by Lee Kyutae (이규태) in 1973. This is the list of to-dos and not to-dos which prevents the pregnant women from being angry or upset. This is supported by the scientific evidence that when one is unstable emotionally, blood vessels constrict, reducing blood flow, and metabolic disorder[1] may occur.

3. It stresses the role of the father. Taegyosingi says that when the mother are on the period of maternity, the father's mind is as important as mother's. The husband should try not to smoke or drink and have a happy and devout mind. This is reasonable when considering the father is the person who can have the most effect on the mother.

[edit] The concept of Taegyo

According to a definition from an online encyclopedia^[2], There are regulations that a mother should observe to have good effects on her unborn child during maternity. When an expectant mother tries to be careful ,prudent in speech and action, and keeps distance from evil thoughts, it affects the unborn child in good ways. In other words, Taegyo is all the efforts that a mother provides the best environment for fetal development. This is based on the belief that fetal environment has a huge influence on fetal development and the life of the baby. Almost every book for pregnant women in Korea includes a Taegyo section. And Taegyo is regarded as a must-do for all pregnant women in Korea. While Westerners focus on the health condition of the mother during the pregnancy, Koreans focus more on the emotional stability of the mother. It has been proved that if the mother is anxious while pregnant, her child is substantially more likely to have behavioral, emotional or cognitive problems. An increased risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity, anxiety and language delay have been described.^[3] High levels of stress hormone may cross the placenta and affect the baby in the womb in a way that carries long-term implications. A Bristol University team found anxiety in late pregnancy was linked to higher cortisol levels in children aged 10. The children with high levels of cortisol in their saliva tended to be born to the mothers who reported the most stress during their pregnancy.^[4]

A pregnant woman has gone through sudden physical, emotional and psychological change processes for 9 months. Because the fetus and the mother are connected not only physically but emotionally and psychologically, the sudden change of its mother also has influences on the baby. Therefore, it is important for the mother to have easy and calm mind. When we regard this as a passive and negative type, there is also the active and positive type of Taegyo applying the principle, when mother's mental attitude aggressively influences on the baby. It is not enough to try to have good mind to make a comfortable womb environment but to do something specific under a plan to give birth to a "qualified child" who is equiped with specific temperament or talent. For example, we can say English Taegyo in Korea is an active type of Taegyo. Because, unlike sound Taegyo such as listening to good music which focus on developing the emotional aspects and the connection between the mother and child, English Taegyo is done with the wish to improve the fetus's language competence.

[edit] Types of Modern Taegyo in Korea

[edit] Talking to the baby

The brain of the fetus develops when stimulated. If not stimulated, it will stop developing. The best way to stimulate the brain of the fetus is the mother's talking to the fetus. By nine weeks, a developing fetus can hiccup and react to loud noises. By the end of the second trimester it can hear. Among other mental feats, the fetus can distinguish between the voice of the mother and that of a stranger, and respond to a familiar story read to it.^[5] Babies, who are talked to in the mother's womb, tend to be faster language learners, well-developed, and more social, athletic, and sensitive. It also make the baby and the mother closely connected to each other. It's best that the mother starts to talk to her baby when she is five months pregnant. The fetus will remember the mother's voice in the part of brain which undertakes memory. And that part develops enough in the 5th month. Also the interbrain develops at this stage, which makes the fetus feel what the mother feels. From the sixth month, the fetus can hear sounds from outside. While talking to the baby, you don't have to give specific knowledge with sophisticated skills. Just tell your baby what the mother sees, hears and feels in an affectionate way. It's goo to say that the mother is so happy with the baby and that the baby is so precious to her and her family. She doesn't have to give the fetus pressure or teach to be as she likes. If you already have children, let them know that they will have a sibling and talk to the fetus. Talking to the fetus makes the mother feel happy and love the baby more. If it's done with the father, it also makes the couple love each other more. The gentle voice of the mother and father delivers the love and pleasant feeling to the fetus and, hence makes the fetus stable to develop.^[6]

[edit] Listening to music

Numerous studies conclude that playing music to babies in the womb and in the early years helps build the neural bridges along which thoughts and information travel. Research suggests it can stimulate the brain's alpha waves, creating a feeling of calm. A recent study of premature infants found that they were soothed by music.^[7] Music can also make people feel comfortable and pleasant, including the mother and the baby. Music stimulates and develops the right side of the brain of the fetus. It also develops the hearing sense of the fetus. Music also affects feeling, hormone secretion, blood pressure, brain waves of the mother and the fetus. However beautiful the music is, it can't surpass the sounds of the nature, as the music originates from the nature. It's good for the fetus to listen to bird singing, insect chipping, sea wave and so on. Classical music is the closest to the sounds of the nature. Experts recommend to choose favorite classical music and listen to it comfortably. If the mother and her husband can sing a song or play an instrument for the baby, it will comfort the baby and supply fresh air to the baby with the mother's deep breath.^[8]

[edit] Reading fairy tales aloud

Reading fairy tales with the mother's voice stimulates the brain of the fetus and helps hearing and emotional development. The fetus takes in the mother's voice not only with their ears but also with their whole body. Through the fairy tales you can deliver exciting, pleasant and sad feelings to the fetus. So, it's crucial to read the fairy tales aloud with a lot of emotion. It is proved that the fetus moves less when the mother reads fairy tales aloud, so as to concentrate on the stories. Reading aloud the fairy tales is an easy way for the father to participate in Taegyo, even though the father feels too awkward or shy to talk to the fetus. You have to read the tales like you talk with the fetus. In order for the fetus to concentrate on the stories, you have to articulate and read them in a gentle and comfortable voice. After reading the stories, talk about what you learn and feel from them. The father's low-toned voice is effectively delivered to the fetus. So, make sure for the father to participate.

[edit] Doing yoga

The most important thing in Taegyo is to provide the best environment for the fetus to develop. Research shows that the environment of fetus is as important as the genetic characteristics in development. Yoga enhances the mother's spiritual wellbeing as well as physical health. If the mother stays pleased, the fetus naturally develops well. High levels of stress hormone may cross the placenta and affect the baby in the womb in a way that carries long-term implications. A Bristol University team found anxiety in late pregnancy was linked to higher cortisol levels in children aged 10. The children with high levels of cortisol in their saliva tended to be born to the mothers who reported the most stress during their pregnancy. ^[9]Yoga also makes the mother's body flexible, which helps the mother to stay healthy, deliver the baby easily, and recover quickly after birth. It prevents pregnancy pain, such as backache, and eases the sensitive pregnant mother's stress. Yoga also makes the mother's body provide enough room for the fetus. It's better to start yoga after 5 months of pregnancy. When doing yoga, they usually listen to comfortable music, take deep breaths, and meditate. These things promote blood circulation and later help easy delivery. The cat pose and the butterfly pose are especially good for pregnant women.^[10]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Doljanchi
• Yoga