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Yi Sajudang , Writes World’s First Book about Prenatal Care

2013-05-30

<strong>Yi Sajudang </strong>, Writes World’s First Book about Prenatal Care
World’s First Book that Stresses Importance of Prenatal Education


‘Just as a good doctor prevents disease, ten months of prenatal care is more important than ten years of education after birth.’
- (New Guidelines for Prenatal Care) by Yi Sajudang-

In Korea, a baby becomes one year old as soon as he or she is born. That is because the child in the mother’s womb during the ten-month period is viewed as a living thing. Inside there, the baby is believed to hear what is heard outside, eat what the mother eats, and feel exactly the same as the mother does.

For this reason, prenatal care has been, and still is, considered very important. It was something women were required to conform to during the Joseon era, when one of the major roles of women was giving birth to children to carry on a family line.

When Joseon women got pregnant, they were told to be prudent in their conduct and followed the traditional methods of prenatal education. A woman named Yi Sajudang published a book to stress the importance of prenatal care in the late Joseon period. It was the first book of its kind in the world.


A Woman of Virtue and Fine Character


Yi Sajudang was born in Cheongju(청주) in 1739. Her father, Yi Chang-sik(이창식), was a scholar and recognized her talent and fine character and created an environment where she could read books. At the time, it was uncommon for girls to be provided with such an educational environment.

Yi was intelligent enough to read ancient classics such as , , and within a year, and she also mastered all household work women were supposed to learn, including weaving and sewing.

She married Yu Han-gyu(유한규), who was the uncle of Yi Bingheogak(이 빙허각), the writer of . Her husband Yu was 22 years older than her, but it is said they were a well-matched couple who depended on each other spiritually.

On their wedding night, the husband told his wife that his 72-year-old mother could not see well, nor move about freely, and she was likely to get angry easily. In response, Yi said there are no parents who are incorrect.

Yi served her mother-in-law with great devotion after her marriage and her in-laws all praised her. Impressed by his dutiful wife, the husband depended on her more than just as a wife, but as an intellectual companion all his life.



Created based on Practice and Experience


(태교신기) or New Guidelines for Prenatal Care is Yi’s book written in Chinese in 1800. Throughout her life, the matter of primary concern was her children’s education. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find any books that contained detailed explanations about prenatal care. She found this regrettable, and after a lot of thinking, she wrote .

To write the book, Yi collected the methods of antenatal education from classics like and as well as from old folklore. She also added her own experience of conceiving and bearing four children. It comes as no surprise that her son Yu Hee(유희) was a prominent scholar of Silhak or Practical Learning who wrote a book titled (언문지) or Study on Korean Writing System.

Yi was 62 years old when she wrote the book. 20 years later, her son Yu Hee divided the book into ten parts and translated it into Korean. The that is available today is the version compiled by her son.

According to the book, ten months of prenatal care by mothers is more important than ten years of education by teachers; fathers’ attitude of mind is important in discouraging children from being greedy and vain; during pregnancy, do not see, hear, say and think something improper; prenatal education is not only for pregnant women but for all the family; pregnant women should not hear noisy music and sound or bad language but purify their mind by reciting poems or listening to good music; pregnant women should not say something mean even if they are angry and they should not deceive other people; while sleeping, pregnant women should use the correct posture; do not take a nap when the weather is too hot or too cold. If parents neglect prenatal education, their child might be talentless and unhealthy as well.

When assessing this book, 20th-century historian Jeong In-bo(정인보) said that prenatal care is much more important than medication or diet in protecting an unborn baby properly. Even today, when modern medical science is highly developed, prenatal education is still considered crucial since it is the best gift parents could ever give to their unborn child.
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