Most Chinese knows that one should not carry renovation works in a house if a family member is pregnant.
This taboo is observed my many Chinese households and generally accepted without question. It may be due to the observation that renovation work carried out in the mother’s presence appears to have a negative effect on the yet unborn child.
Why? Is there a good reason behind this practice?
No one knows for sure but there are at least a few good reasons that I can think of.
A house that is undergoing renovation is not a safe place – pregnant or not. Accidents are more likely to happen. The center of gravity is shifted in a pregnant person and the likelihood of falling down is higher. Furthermore, pregnancy makes the ligaments softer and the joints less stable which increases the risk of injury.

During the renovation works, the pregnant person may get involved in moving items about. Some research shows that there is a higher potential of miscarriages in who do strenuous labor.

It is a fact that mothers who smoke increases the baby’s chances of fetal injury, premature birth and low birth weight. During renovation works, the environment is usually dusty and unhealthy and while I am not sure if it is equivalent to smoking, it is better to avoid such an environment.

Studies suggest that external noise has an effect on babies in the womb. For example, loud noise can cause changes in the baby’s heart rate. In addition, the stress on the mother created by these loud noises can affect the baby indirectly. It appears that the fetus is not protected from physical changes that the mother experiences. This in turn may be transmitted to the baby and affect normal fetal development.
A study conducted on Japan with over 1000 births produce evidence to suggest that noisy areas have a greater chance of producing low-weight babies.
But what if you must carry out the renovation works? What if it just cannot be delayed? Is there an alternative way?
The solution is to move the pregnancy person to another location (e.g. sibling’s house) during time that renovation works are carried out. It is as simple as that.