Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Eedoryeong]

My wife didn't want to stay there, in order to save some money, too. I was as pro-active as possible - learning to cook her favorites and even that mi-eok gook, we kept English and Korean versions of baby literature handy all the time, rushing back to the hospital for what turned out to be run-of-the-mill baby stuff, I studied Lamaze with her beforehand at the hospital, but when all was said and done she still had to deal with the huge physical adjustment afterward and there's simply nothing one can do to help her with that, short of keeping her at the hospital. I think looking back we might have been better off doing that post-natal Korean option, no matter how superman I tried to be.

So this time I'm putting aside a small amount for it and we're going to try it.

I am glad it is possible to do it for 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc. I thought it was mandatory one month.

If you can manage it, I would recommend it, and not for any reasons involving supposed limitations on the part of the support partner i.e. you.

Good luck.

[Fox]

[jrwhite82]

The other poster who said his wife got bored is right. My wife got bored at the end of 2 weeks too and was ready to go home. 4 weeks is just too long in my opinion, unless the birth is complicated or a C-section maybe going more than 2. But otherwise, 2 is perfect.

It really is worth the money I think.

[Swampfox10mm]

We did it. Well worth the money. She had the baby at the same place. Great after a c-section. Paid for 2 or 3 weeks. I can post pics later if anyone wants.

After sleeping in a boiling hot room (shared with 2 other couples) on a slide-out plank the size of an ironing board, I now have a good idea of what hell must be like. Imagine breast milk being pumped all hours by 3 women as you try to sleep behind privacy curtains. That was the hospital side.

The post first-week delivery stay area was a private room with a real bed.

[jrwhite82]

Swamp - We were able to upgrade the post delivery portion of our stay to a private room in the hospital ward. (3 days). Then moved to the recovery ward for a week and a half. It was well worth it I though. I'm not sure if every woman's hospital offers this though.

We did NOT want to experience that 3 people in one room thing. I can only imagine how awful and stressful that must have been for you guys.

I think most people should consider upgrading to the private room too if your hospital offers it. Having a baby is a very intimate and unique experience. It's better to experience it alone as a family, then cramming into a small hot room with strangers.

[PatrickGHBusan]

For our first child, she stayed at such a place for 3 weeks post-birth. It was something she wanted and heck since SHE carried and gave birth to our child, I figured this was no time to argue over a few bucks


She loved the after-birth place, it really helped her recover and frankly speaking on that issue she got to decide and I was more than happy to follow along!

Still....congratulations on the child Dodge!

As for the hospital we had a shared room for the first night after birth (no pvt rooms available) and transfered to a pvt room the next day. It is well worth moving to such a room.


I will say raising kids with a spouse from another culture/country is interesting. Our son is in primary school now and we hit a cultural wall (yes even after all these years of marriage!) when he got his first report card. Nothing bad, just a very interesting discussion where each of us had to compromise.

[denverdeath]

We have three now from two different places. All were single rooms. For the first, she came home after 10 days, only to return for another week the same day as she couldn't handle the pain(first was the biggest of the three, and her first, of course). We also had a midwife/cleaning-lady come for a few months afterwards. For the second, she stayed closer to three weeks, and also had the midwife thingy for a month after coming home. The third, was a record two days. Think she regretted that one a bit, but we're all a bit better now. No midwifery for that one either. We, and mother-in-law, have done most of the work with not too many problems. All in all, I'd say two weeks is probably adequate, but splurge a bit more if necessary. The only things to be wary of are all the extra (unnecessary?) tests, unnecessary(?) products, and parking schemes those places have...

[pkang0202]

OP,

Its a cultural thing too. Imagine having a wedding in the West and then saying going on a honeymoon is a waste of money.


Now, I'm with you in thinking it is a waste of money. My sister had 3 kids and she took them home from the hospital within days of giving birth. She did just fine.

Still, you should look at it beyond "money" and see at the situation from her point of view. Its the cultural norm to go to those places. Not going would probably bring embarrassment to her from her family and friends.

[fosterman]

I refused it, and then I convinced my wife how stupid an idea it is,
then told her, instead of wasting 2 million won for a week let's all take a vacation with the money when the baby is 1 which we did LOL.
I let her eat all the seaweed she wanted too though, and frankly she even said
she felt so much more comfortable in her own house. she was probably just saying that hahahaha
then again if I was a Korean guy she would of been all over it LOL
just like her friends.
ohhhhh Korea LOL

[Adam Carolla]

I was kinda against the whole mommy-hotel thing too, but on the other hand, I really didn't care enough to put up a fight. My wife stayed what seems to be the consensus amount of time, 2 weeks. I actually found it to be money well spent.

[nobbyken]

Many Korean woman have different body types than most Western women. Many feel cold or have low energy, especially after birth. If a wife is the quiet type who let their anger build up before exploding, then they possibly have the type of body type which is cool (Yin) in nature and feel flu-like coldness and pain in their bones very easily. The diet they get in these places also helps cleanse and normalize the blood after birth. My wife spent 2 weeks in one for our first, only to end up spending a week in a cramped hospital ward for a week after coming home, because of appendicitis. Second child, she had to come home after 5 days in regular hospital as I had to go back to work and stop looking after our first. We got a woman to come for daytime, but she quit after a week as the driving time/cost was eating into her earnings. She was awesome though by making lovely food and helping with the kids.

[motiontodismiss]

[jrwhite82]

[singerdude]

I would suggest 2 weeks at the hospital, then have a nurse come stay at your house for 2 weeks. I don't mean a babysitter, but someone who will take care of the baby and teach your wife how to care for him/her at home. She will also help with the housework and cook for her. My wife really appreciated it. It cost 350,000 a week. 8 hours Mon-Fri and 4 hours on Sat. I believe it is well worth the money. You could also do one week at the hospital and 3 weeks with an at-home nurse for the same 2 mil.

[Dodge7]

Thank you for the mature responses, the other two guys who attacked me can f off though.
I'm echoing basically what the guy said a couple posts ago, I basically put up a weak front to try to convince her, but she will be going for two weeks. I'm encouraged by all of the positive experiences, too!