Breastfeeding in Public in Korea

Updated 5 September 2016

I was recently asked what Koreans think about breastfeeding in public. I have to say that only once have I had an issue with it. I have no qualms about breastfeeding in public and have done so on the subway, bus, and even walking down the street cradling my daughter when she was sleeping. My daughter's almost 2 and a half and I'm still breastfeeding. In Korean age she's 4 and I think that some Koreans believe that breastfeeding until Korean age 2 is ok, but after that it's not.

Breastfeeding Lounges
Many department stores, immigration offices, some restaurants, as well as some train stations will have breastfeeding lounges. They can run from basic to very nice. They'll have things such as changing tables, microwaves, fridges, cribs, wipes, and even scales. Here's a map of breastfeeding lounges throughout Seoul. This is not a complete map.

Problems with Breastfeeding in Public
Which brings me to the one time I have had an issue with breastfeeding in public. We were on the subway and I started to breastfeed her and an old lady asked how old she was and I said she was 3. She proceeded to do the flapping hand thing and say something about age 2. So I did the flapping hand thing as well and told her to go away. She in Korean and me in English. I don't understand Korean, but I'm pretty sure the jist of it was that my daughter was too old to breastfeed according to her. Even though I nursed my daughter until she was almost 4 (western), I did it less and less in public as she got older.

Koreans are Open to Breastfeeding
Many older people will actually tell you to breastfeed. I remember being on the subway when she was a baby and them telling me that she was hungry and that I should feed her. I've also been assisted by a random ajumma in the sauna with latching. It can be annoying, all the unwanted advice you get. It's just cultural. They do it to Koreans as well. They're trying to help and they mean well.

I have found that nursing seems to be more talked about with the older generation. And by that, I've found that they want to give you advice. But that might be a generation gap issue with older people offering more advice in general, ex, your baby's too cold, or too hot, or too whatever. 

There are nursing rooms in subway stations, department stores, zoos, kids' cafes, immigration offices, and even some of the new subway trains have them. They're very nice, some have multiple rooms with changing areas, nursing areas, sink, microwave, etc. Some are more basic and just have a table and chair.

Koreans' Reactions to Breastfeeding
I know that some women try to cover up and use nursing covers. Those seem to work for the first couple of months and then babies want to see what's going on and will push it off. There are other options, such as nursing in a wrap or carrier, or using your hand or scarf to cover up a bit. Just like you wouldn't like eating under a blanket, many babies don't like it either.

I've heard of some good come back from women who are told to cover up. Some are nicer than others. One of my favorites is when I woman is offered a blanket and she tells the person thanks, but she doesn't need it and they're welcome to use it to cover their eyes if they'd like to.

I have never, ever been stared at. When people realize you're breastfeeding they tend to divert their eyes and look away. There are many, many articles about breastfeeding in public, or nursing in public (NIP) out there. Here's one from Double Think called Every Argument about NIP Debunked. It has photos, so you might not want to view it at work. I personally like the warrior photo.

Breastfeeding Legalities: legally during the first 12 months after giving birth you are either allowed to come an hour late, leave an hour early, or given an hour two 30 minute sessions to pump at work. Here is some useful links. All docs are from 2011.

• the Act on Equal Employment Support for Work-Family Reconciliation in English 
• the Act for Equal Employment Support for Work-Family Reconciliation in Korean 
• the Labor Standards in English. 

The Acts for Equal Employment have all maternity, paternity, and childcare laws. However, laws are not always followed here. You may be given a closet to pump in or told to go to the bathroom.



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Tender Embrace Birthing offers childbirth, breastfeeding, and newborn care classes and support.

HypnoBirthing® vs Hypnobabies®

Updated 14 November 2017

When I was pregnant, I looked into many different types of child birthing classes and two hypnosis classes kept coming up. Below you can find out the pros and cons of each of these methods. While HypnoBirthing® and Hypnobabies® both try to allow the mother and baby to have a natural, peaceful birth, there are still a few differences between the two programs. Some of this information is based off Birthing Naturally and Pregnancy, Birth, and Babies. If you're a professional intrested in the process of getting advanced hypnotherapy training, check out the hypnosis and childbirth online certification.
 

HypnoBirthing®

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HypnoBirthing® Pros

• Created by Marie Mongan, M.Ed., M.Hy. in the late 1980s, it was the first course to use hypnosis for childbirth.
• Many women say that the information that they learn in the course can be used for other parts of their lives. 
• It's more effective for home births than hospital or clinic births.
• Many women find that it's very helpful for them in the early stages of labor.
• There are many HypnoBirthing® practitioners and it has a strong following. 

HypnoBirthing® Cons

• Since it's based on the idea that childbirth should be painless, coping techniques aren't provided. 
• Because women don't learn about pain or interventions, they are often given unnecessary interventions.
• Benefits and risks of different birthing options are not discussed.
• Many women find that HypnoBirthing® doesn't work at the end of their labor.

My Conclusions about HypnoBirthing®
I do know a handful of people who have studied HypnoBirthing® and while they said that it did help at the beginning of their labor, it didn't prepare them for the end of their labor, making them feel that they had failed and had nothing to fall back on. Now this is quite normal, for women to expect one thing and get another. It's always good to have a plan and a back-up plan. The problem with HypnoBirthing® is that it only provides one plan that everyone is supposed to follow.

HypnoBirthing® has its own set of words that you have to learn. There is no pain or contractions, but rather discomfort, sensations, and waves. I think that it's good that it tries to get rid of all the painful, negative images about birthing that we've been bombarded with all our lives. I also do know that it is possible to have a peaceful, pain-free birth. However, many women experience sensations that they are not prepared to deal with. Due to this, they may end up feeling bitter about their birth experience.

Hypnobabies®

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Hypnobabies® Pros

• Created by Kerry Tuschhoff, HCHI, CHt. Cl., who originally was a HypnoBirthing® practitioner and felt that the course was missing key information.
• They offer a home study option.
• They use powerful hypno-anesthesia techniques (medical hypnosis, like what people have used for surgeries) such as eye-open hypnosis with the finger-drop technique.
• Moms prefer it because it's more effective and provides a more rounded and more comprehensive view of child birthing, such as back labor and how to deal with it.
• There's more material that is updated frequently based on feedback from people who have used their course such as consumer information, recorded material, scripts for partners, and a quick reference guide.

Hypnobabies® Cons

• There are fewer instructors compared to HypnoBirthing®. 
• Classes are longer. There are six 3-hour classes compared to five 2.5-hour HypnoBirthing® classes.
• Home study courses  aren't the same as having an actual teacher. 
• Some people say that it strongly resembles HypnoBirthing®.

My Conclusions about Hypnobabies®
I think that Hypnobabies® is much more comprehensive than HypnoBirthing®. They teach about stages of labor and what coping techniques can be used for each stage. They compare expectant management to what active management techniques that many doctors use. They give women facts and allow them to pick and choose what they like to create their own birth plan. They recognize that different women want different things.

The fact that they also offer a home study course makes it a better option for people in Korea who may not be able to attend face-to-face classes with an instructor. Hypnobabies® recognizes that they don't have all the answers and due to that they use their customers' feedback to update the course.

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My Recommendation
I personally would recommend doing the home study option from Hypnobabies®. There are only a few HypnoBirthing® instructors and there aren't any Hypnobabies® instructors.

If you're looking for HypnoBirthing® classes, they can be found on my list of instructors as well as on the HypnoBirthing® website.

By doing the home study option from Hypnobabies®, you can work at your own pace in your own home. It's recommended that you start in your second trimester. You can start later, but keep in mind that it's a 5 week course and that babies come early. After you finish the course, you will want to review every day or so in order to keep the information fresh in your mind.



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Tender Embrace Birthing offers childbirth, breastfeeding, and newborn care classes and support.

Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwifery Center

A pioneer in the field of natural birthing, Ina May Gaskin MA, CPM, PhD (Hon.) is the nation's leading midwife. She shows us how we should learn from how our ancestors birthed, without fear and trusting in our bodies. She recognises that there is a strong mind-body connection and the majority of women can birth without interventions.

Despite her low tech facilities on the Farm Midwifery Center, she has beat her high tech counterparts achieving low rates of interventions, morbidity, and mortality. She also has high rates of delivering twins and breech babies vaginally and even babies with shoulder dystocia.

An author of a handful of books about birthing and breastfeeding, as well as a recipient of many awards, she is out to change the world and help women birth without fear. Her website contacts articles, books, and videos and are backed up with statistical data.

Her book Ina May's Guide to Childbirth is a fantastic read since childbirth is explained in layman's terms, but also contains tons of medical references that you can show to your doctor to help back you up. Her TED talk is a powerful, moving video about reducing fear during the birthing process. The fear-pain-tension process is something that has to be eliminated and becoming informed is the first step you can take. Other videos that you might like to watch are Orgasmic Birth and Organic Birth and the Business of Being Born.  There's also a sequel, called More Business of Being Born, which has four parts.

1. Part 1: Down on the Farm
2. Part 2: Special Deliveries
3. Part 3: Explore Your Options
4. Part 4: The VBAC Dilemma

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Organic Birth: Birth is Natural!

The first move, Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret (85 minutes), follows 7 families through their birth journeys. It shows how birth should be safe and personal without unnecessary interventions. They show how the media has distorted how births should be and treats it as surgery with women being wheeled uncapable of walking. Doctors are seen as being able to fix this "problem"  or perform an unnnecessary C-section despite the fact that women's bodies were made to do this.

Organic Birth: Birth is Natural (52 minutes) is adapted from Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret and will change everything you thought you knew about childbirth. It tells us how the general public have been brainwashed into thinking that birthing is an emergency instead of a natural process. Women in labor need privacy, dark rooms, and little interruptions: things which most hospitals don't provide. Instead of turning your body over to medicine. Birth is meant to be an emotion, spiritual, transcendent moment.

No longer are women automatically signing up for lots of drugs or a C-section. More and more women are becoming empowered. Women are fighting back. In addition to the two movies mentioned about, The Business of Being Born with Ricki Lake, garnered a lot of media attention and showed women that they should do research about birthing, create birth plans, and decide how they'd like to birth their baby. Ina May's TED talk about reducing fear during birthing is also an eye-opening video that makes you re-think about all the interventions done to women in labor. Ina May Gaskin is a pioneer in the natural birthing field.

The World Health Organization has created a Baby-Friendly Hospital Inititative (BFHI) that more than 152 countries have signed up for since 1991. Sadly in the USA, there are only 170 BFHI facilities (search by state) that have earned this title. I can't find a list about Korea, but here are reviews of birthing facilities in Korea that expats recommend as well as birth plans for Korea.


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Tender Embrace Birthing offers childbirth, breastfeeding, and newborn care classes and support.

What Type of Child Birthing Class Should I Take?

There are a number of different child birthing classes available out there and they may cover many different topics such as nutrition, birthing positions, coping techniques, and breastfeeding. While there aren't as many options available in Korea as there are back home, you still have to decide what's right for you. Here are the 3 main types of classes. Within each type there are also many different options available.

• Self-study: read books, talk to women who have given birth, find info online, using forums, and putting together your own curriculum. You can also buy self study books such as The Pink Kit. Many women enjoy the Hypnobabies® home study course. You can learn more about their program and see how Hypnobabies® can help you have a peaceful birth.
• Independent class taught by an instructor: Here in Korea you can find instructors who have studied with CBI (Childbirth International), the Bradley Method, and HypnoBirthing®. Women who take HypnoBirthing® classes have positive things to say about their method. You can learn more about their program and see if it's right for you. You can also find doulas, midwives, and doctors who teach birthing classes. Here is a complete list for Korea.
• Hospital or clinic based class: Morning Calm Birthing have classes as well as offer birth doula and postpartum doula services. Here is a list of hospitals and clinics in Korea. Some of the big natural birthing places such as GM Cheil, Mama's Care, Medi Flower, Rosa's Clinic, and Yeon and Nature may have birthing classes. These classes tend to be very similar to independent classes, but may also emphasize what will happen at that particular clinic.

Birthing Naturally has a great chart to help you choose exactly which type of birthing class would work for you. You also might be interested in reading, when should I take a child birthing class?

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Tender Embrace Birthing offers childbirth, breastfeeding, and newborn care classes and support.