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China Elevator Stories
“What Are You Doing To become Pregnant?”
My female co-workers exchange pregnancy advice over dinner in Shenzhen.
24/10/2013
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
One day, one of our co-workers treats us to dinner after work. The reason? He recently became a father, and it’s tradition in China to treat your friends and co-workers to a nice meal once your child has turned 100 days.
When we finish with the food, Lan, a female co-worker, asks Xun, another female co-worker who is trying to become pregnant: “Are you pregnant yet?”
Xun answers: “No, not yet.”
Lan asks her: “What are you doing in order to support becoming pregnant?”
Xun tells her: “I try to sleep well, rest enough, and eat well.”
Lan says: “I’d like to become pregnant within the next two years, but right now I’m working overtime every single day. I really don’t get to sleep enough.” She then goes on: “A friend of mine tried to become pregnant—guess how long it took her to get pregnant? Three years!”
Xun states: “Yeah, it can’t be forced, so we try not to think about it all the time.”
Most of my co-workers are only a little older than me.
Last year was a year of tying the knot—many co-workers got married, so maybe this year will be a year of egg fertilization? After all, many of my female co-workers are going to turn 30 soon, and people here say that a woman’s ovaries are at their best between the ages of 25 and 30.
Sure enough, in the following months, three female co-workers become pregnant.
Have you ever tried to become pregnant?
This is part of the series ‘Conversations with Locals in China,’ where I share conversations with Chinese people on my blog.