Jürgen Hubert on Nostr: In German #folklore , it was a common belief that a woman should not leave the house ...
In German #folklore , it was a common belief that a woman should not leave the house for six weeks after #childbirth .
While this is cloaked in superstition ("...or else the Devil will get you!") the end effect was still that new mothers were allowed to _rest_ for six weeks and recover from their ordeals.
Compare this to (say) the #USA where women are only entitled to some unpaid leave in such a circumstance - and most only take a few days off because they can't afford to do otherwise.
Mind you, I am not saying that living and working conditions in previous centuries were great - as a rule, they weren't.
But there was a keen awareness among the working classes that people needed _rest_ from time to time - something that is often forgotten in this day and age.
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/285527
While this is cloaked in superstition ("...or else the Devil will get you!") the end effect was still that new mothers were allowed to _rest_ for six weeks and recover from their ordeals.
Compare this to (say) the #USA where women are only entitled to some unpaid leave in such a circumstance - and most only take a few days off because they can't afford to do otherwise.
Mind you, I am not saying that living and working conditions in previous centuries were great - as a rule, they weren't.
But there was a keen awareness among the working classes that people needed _rest_ from time to time - something that is often forgotten in this day and age.
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/285527