How To Live Better Tiếng Việt

This book is written about mainland China. Where it says national, domestic or the state, it means China, not your country.

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Things to handle before and after the child is born: a list in time order

The book is divided into sections by topic, so matters of pregnancy, birth and raising a child are spread over several sections. This list puts them in time order, from preparing for pregnancy to the child's first birthday. Each point says only what to do. For why you do it and how firm the evidence is, look at the item named in the parentheses. Start from the sub-heading for the stage you are in.

1. When preparing for pregnancy

  1. Take one 0.4 mg folic acid tablet every day, starting 3 months ahead. See Section 27, item 1 (folic acid).
  2. Call the social insurance or medical insurance line once and ask whether the number of consecutive months you have paid into maternity insurance is enough. See Section 27, item 11 (maternity insurance).
  3. Agree with the family members who live with you that from now on nobody smokes indoors. See Section 2, item 2 (do not smoke at home or in the car).
  4. If someone depends on your income to live, first buy term life insurance for the person who earns the money. See Section 5, item 40 (term life insurance).

2. After you are pregnant, before the birth

  1. Before 13 weeks of pregnancy, go to the community health service center and open the "Maternal and Child Health Handbook" (《母子健康手册》). Free prenatal checkups are collected from here. See Section 27, item 2 (Maternal and Child Health Handbook).
  2. At the first prenatal checkup, test for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B. You do not pay for these tests yourself. See Section 27, item 3 (the three tests: HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B).
  3. Do not smoke during the whole pregnancy, and do not drink even a mouthful of alcohol. See Section 27, item 4 (not one cigarette and not one mouthful of alcohol).
  4. At the prenatal checkup, state your medical history clearly. If you have high-risk factors for pre-eclampsia, the doctor decides whether you should take low-dose aspirin after 12 weeks of pregnancy. See Section 27, item 5 (low-dose aspirin).
  5. At 24 weeks of pregnancy or later, have one screening for gestational diabetes. See Section 27, item 6 (gestational diabetes screening).
  6. After 20 weeks of pregnancy, do not take painkillers such as ibuprofen on your own. See Section 34, item 5 (painkillers such as ibuprofen).
  7. Remember the "go to the hospital at once" list, and have the people who live with you remember it too. See Section 27, item 7 (the go-to-the-hospital-at-once list).
  8. At a prenatal checkup, ask whether the hospital can do painless labor (epidural). See Section 27, item 9 (painless labor).
  9. Do not ask for a cesarean section on your own if there is no medical indication. See Section 27, item 10 (cesarean section).
  10. If you will not give birth in the place where you are insured, ask ahead of time whether you need to register for childbirth outside your insured area. See Section 27, item 11 (maternity insurance).
  11. Maternity leave is at least 98 days, and you can take 15 days of it before the birth. See Section 18, item 2 (maternity leave).
  12. If your employer cuts your pay or moves you to another post because of the pregnancy, keep the written notice and the chat records. See Section 18, item 3 (pay may not be cut because of pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding).
  13. Borrow the crib and the stroller first, and if you cannot borrow them, buy second-hand. Do not buy a second-hand car seat or mattress. See Section 20, item 11 (borrow, buy second-hand, buy new).
  14. Buy a small pack of diapers first and try them for a week, and stock up when they suit. See Section 20, item 10 (diapers).
  15. Think of the name ahead of time, and confirm that the household registration system can print those characters. See Section 27, item 12 (birth medical certificate).

3. In hospital for the birth

  1. If your water breaks, lie flat where you are, raise your hips, call 120, and do not walk around. See Section 27, item 8 (water breaking).
  2. Start feeding within the first hour after the child is born. See Section 20, item 4 (breast milk only).
  3. Give the first hepatitis B vaccine dose within 24 hours of birth. If the mother's hepatitis B surface antigen is positive, the child also gets hepatitis B immune globulin at the same time. See Section 20, item 2 (first dose of hepatitis B vaccine).
  4. Give the vitamin K injection. If the birth is at home or in an unlicensed facility, ask about it yourself. See Section 20, item 7 (vitamin K injection).
  5. Do not refuse the heel-prick blood screening or the hearing screening. Before you sign the informed consent form, check which items are paid extras. See Section 27, item 13 (heel-prick blood screening and hearing screening).

4. Before you leave the hospital

  1. Get the "Birth Medical Certificate" (《出生医学证明》) done, and check the names and ID numbers of the parents and the child character by character. See Section 27, item 12 (birth medical certificate).
  2. With the birth medical certificate, enroll the child in resident medical insurance online. You do not need to wait for the hukou (户口, household registration) to be registered. If you are not sure, call 12393 and ask. See Section 27, item 14 (resident medical insurance).
  3. Use a car seat on the way home. For a child under 1 year, install it rear-facing, and do not hold the child in your arms. See Section 1, item 10 (car seat).

5. The first month after birth

  1. Within one month, report the birth registration at the police station. See Section 27, item 15 (report the birth registration).
  2. After the hukou is registered, apply for the childcare subsidy at the place of the child's hukou, 3,600 yuan per child per year. See Section 18, item 1 (childcare subsidy).
  3. The child sleeps on the back, on a firm flat surface, in the same room but not the same bed, with nothing soft in the bed. See Section 20, item 1 (sleep on the back).
  4. If you feed formula, mix it with water above 70 ℃, and pour away what is left over. See Section 20, item 5 (mixing formula).
  5. If a child under 3 months reaches a temperature of 38 ℃, go straight to the hospital. See Section 20, item 8 (temperature of 38 ℃).
  6. When you are about to lose your temper, put the child back in the crib and walk away for a few minutes. See Section 20, item 9 (never shake a baby).
  7. The mother's "go to the hospital at once" list applies for the whole year after the birth. See Section 27, item 7 (the go-to-the-hospital-at-once list).

6. From the first month to the first birthday

  1. Go for the checkup 42 days after the birth. It includes one screening for postpartum depression. See Section 27, item 16 (42 days after the birth).
  2. Take the child to the vaccination clinic for the national immunization program vaccines by age in months. DTaP starts at 2 months. See Section 20, item 3 (national immunization program).
  3. For the first 6 months, breast milk only. At 6 months, add complementary food, and every day there must be an animal-source food rich in iron. See Section 20, item 4 (complementary food from 6 months).
  4. Do not give honey to a child under 1 year. See Section 20, item 6 (honey).
  5. If the child has severe eczema or an egg allergy, see a doctor first, and then decide whether to add peanut early. See Section 20, item 12 (do not avoid peanut).
  6. If a child under 2 years has a cold, do not give a compound cold medicine on your own. See Section 34, item 4 (compound cold medicine).
  7. Fit window stops on the windows and balcony. A screen window is not protection. See Section 1, item 11 (fit window stops on windows and balconies).
  8. From 0 to 3 years, give no screens such as phones and tablets. See Section 30, item 5 (no screens).
  9. After you go back to work, if the child is under 1 year, you have 1 hour a day for breastfeeding. See Section 18, item 3 (breastfeeding).
  10. Link the personal account of your employee medical insurance to family mutual aid, so that it can be used for the child's treatment and medicine. See Section 5, item 13 (family mutual aid).
  11. At the annual personal income tax reconciliation, fill in the deduction for the care of infants and children under 3. See Section 5, item 2 (special additional deductions).