It is a taboo in the Chinese community to carry out renovation works in a house if a member of the household is pregnant.



Throughout the ages, the Chinese observed that carrying out renovation works when a family member is pregnant can bring negative consequences for the mother and the 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.

Much as we would not want to, the pregnant person may get involved in moving items about. Studies show that women would do strenuous labor during pregnancy can increase the likelihood of miscarriages.

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.

You may be interested to know of a Japanese study of over 1000 births. The study shows evidence of greater proportion of low-weight babies in noisy areas!

What if you have no choice but to renovate? How can you overcome this prohibition?

The answer is quite simple. Simply move the pregnant person to another location during the renovation period. That is all you need to do.