How to Read “A cold caught during the first seven nights stays for a lifetime”
Nanaya no uchi no kaze wa isshō tsuku
Meaning of “A cold caught during the first seven nights stays for a lifetime”
This proverb warns that catching a cold during the extremely important seven-day period after childbirth can make you prone to catching colds for the rest of your life.
A mother’s body after childbirth is severely exhausted from the major work of giving birth. Her immune system is also weakened during this time.
If she catches a cold during this period, her already weakened body takes even more damage. Before she can fully recover, the next major task of childcare begins.
As a result, her constitution itself becomes weaker. The belief is that she will catch colds easily throughout her entire life.
This proverb was used to send a strong message to postpartum women: “Be especially careful to rest your body during this one week.”
It was also used to teach family members around her. They needed to let the mother rest properly and protect her from cold and fatigue.
Even today, the importance of postpartum care is being reconsidered. The wisdom contained in this proverb has not faded.
Origin and Etymology
The exact first appearance of this proverb in literature is unclear. However, it is thought to have emerged from traditional Japanese wisdom about postpartum recovery.
“Nanaya” refers to the seventh night after a baby is born. Since ancient times in Japan, people held a celebration ceremony called “Oshichiya” on this day to announce the baby’s name.
These seven days were recognized as a special period for the mother as well.
Childbirth places enormous strain on a woman’s body. Even in modern medicine, there is a concept called the “puerperium” as the postpartum recovery period.
The first week is considered the time when the body is most weakened. Since before the Edo period, experienced midwives and elderly women knew that managing the mother’s health during this time was extremely important.
In those days, medical care was not advanced. Letting a cold worsen could be life-threatening.
The body immediately after childbirth has lowered immunity. Once you catch a cold, recovery is delayed and it affects your constitution afterward.
This was understood through experience. This proverb is thought to have been passed down as a warning to protect mothers’ health, born from the observations and experiences of our ancestors.
Interesting Facts
Medically, the first week after childbirth is called the “early puerperium.” It is considered the most important time for the mother’s recovery.
Modern research has confirmed that overdoing it during this period increases the risk of postpartum depression and prolonged health problems.
In the old days, the twenty-one days after childbirth were the period until “tokoage” (getting up from bed). The mother would remain in bed with her futon laid out for complete rest.
The first seven days especially required absolute rest. A culture was established where the entire family worked together to protect the mother.
Usage Examples
- My sister just gave birth, but they say a cold caught during the first seven nights stays for a lifetime, so I told her to stay warm and rest no matter what
- The mother-in-law stopped her daughter-in-law from trying to do housework right after giving birth, saying a cold caught during the first seven nights stays for a lifetime
Universal Wisdom
This proverb contains a universal truth about the importance of “critical periods” in life.
The human body has several important turning points that affect the rest of your life. The seven days after childbirth are exactly one such critical period.
How you spend this time greatly influences your health afterward. Our ancestors saw this fact through years of experience.
There is a deep insight here about “the importance of early response.” Things that can be recovered with proper care when problems are small or in the early stages when the body is weak become irreversible if neglected.
This is a truth that applies not only to health but to human relationships, work, and all things in life.
This proverb also embodies “the wisdom of prevention.” Rather than treating illness after it occurs, protect yourself from getting sick in the first place.
Especially during weakened periods, you need to be more careful than usual. This preventive mindset was essential wisdom for people to survive in an era when medical care was undeveloped.
Looking even deeper, this also teaches “the courage to acknowledge weakness.” The postpartum mother acknowledges “I am in an especially weak state right now,” and those around her understand and support her.
This mutual understanding and cooperation becomes the foundation for protecting life and maintaining health.
When AI Hears This
The human immune system has remarkable characteristics. The response pattern to the first virus encountered is memorized like a default setting.
Even when infected with similar viruses later, the immune system doesn’t create new countermeasures. It continues to prioritize using the old memory. This is called “original antigenic sin.”
Research on influenza viruses has revealed something interesting. Antibodies against the virus type you were infected with in early childhood are mobilized first, even when infected with a different type decades later.
In other words, the immune system has a habit of trying to fight with the “first version” rather than the “latest version.”
Research shows that people born in the 1960s and people born in the 1990s have clearly different immune responses to the same influenza.
This phenomenon explains why infection during the extremely early period of seven days after birth is important. Information first written when the immune system is still a blank slate becomes a basic setting that is hard to overwrite.
In other words, infection experiences in the period shortly after birth continue to function throughout life as a “template” for that person’s immune response.
The expression “stays for a lifetime” pointed out by this proverb is not mere superstition. It can be said to have accurately captured the biological mechanism of immune memory prioritization.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern people is an important lesson: “Don’t underestimate recovery periods.”
Modern society tends to demand “getting back to normal quickly” too much. People think about returning to work immediately after childbirth or overdo it trying to be perfect mothers.
However, if you cut into the rest your body truly needs, the price will always come back to you later.
This is not limited to childbirth. After illness, after major projects, after emotional shocks. Life repeatedly presents situations where you need “time for recovery.”
In such times, this proverb teaches us, “Now is the time to rest.”
What modern people especially need is “the courage to show weakness” and “the ability to ask for help.” Don’t try too hard alone. Let those around you support you.
That is not something to be ashamed of. It is a wise choice for living a long, healthy life.
Your body is a precious partner you will be with for your entire life. By caring for it properly during important periods, your subsequent life becomes richer and healthier.
That is the warm yet strict message of love that this proverb has continued to convey.
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