「出産前に夫のため食事や下着の準備を」　ソウル市の助言に非難殺到

【ソウルＡＦＰ＝時事】韓国の首都ソウル市が妊娠中の女性らに対し、出産前には夫のために数回分の食事と清潔な下着を用意しておくようアドバイスしていたことが分かり、非難が殺到している。（写真は資料写真）
　問題になったのは、ソウル市の妊婦向けウェブサイト。出産予定日が近づいたら「料理に不慣れ」な夫のために数回分の食事をあらかじめ作っておき、妻が病院から帰宅するまでの日数分の清潔な下着や靴下、シャツ、ハンカチを用意しておけば、家庭内での「不便」が避けられると書かれていた。
　また妊娠初期には、出産後に着たい小さめサイズの服を飾っておけば、食べ過ぎたり運動を怠ったりすることがないとの助言もあった。
　このガイドラインは２０１９年から記載されていたものの、最近になって市民の目に留まり、批判が集中。先週になって、サイト上から削除された。
　大統領府ウェブサイトには、問題の責任を負う職員らの処罰を求める請願書が掲載され、１１日午後までに２万人分以上の署名が集まった。
　ＡＦＰの取材に対しソウル市は、サイト上の掲載内容の「徹底的な精査」ができていなかったと認め、「再発を防ぐため、運営全体を定期的にチェックする組織を設置する」と明かした。
　韓国は、出生率の急落に伴う人口危機に直面。その一因として、女性が仕事と育児の二重の負担を背負っていることが指摘されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/01/12-08:45）

The Seoul city government is facing a popular backlash after advising pregnant women to cook their husbands several meals and ensure they have a supply of clean underwear before going to hospital to give birth.
This would avoid causing family inconvenience, the government of the South Korean capital posted on a website for expectant mothers.
The guidelines -- originally posted in 2019 -- were removed last week from the website after they came to public notice and triggered a groundswell of criticism.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 20,000 people had signed a petition posted on the presidential website calling for the officials responsible for the content to be punished.
During the early stages of pregnancy, women were advised to hang up a small-sized outfit that they want to wear after giving birth to motivate them not to overeat or skip exercises.
By not putting off household chores like cleaning and doing the dishes, it will help with maintaining your weight even without doing extra exercise, the Pregnancy and Childbirth Information Centre website said.
As their due date approaches, an expectant mother should prepare a few meals in advance for her husband who will be unfamiliar with cooking, and ensure he has clean underwear, socks, shirts and handkerchieves to last him until his wife returns from hospital.
Avoid causing inconvenience to your family by checking if there are enough toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap and detergent, the website stated.
South Korea is facing a demographic crisis as its birth rate plunges with women facing a double burden of work and childcare.
The objective of the website seems to be to promote singlehood and not motherhood, the petition reads, adding: Does Seoul city think of women as public goods that give birth?
In a statement to AFP on Monday, the Seoul city government acknowledged that it had failed to thoroughly review the contents before posting them on its website.
We will establish a foundation for regular inspection of the overall operation to prevent this from ever happening again.