Grandmother travels to Kyoto

One of our homestay students is having her first baby - she has invited me to come to Japan - I will help her after the baby arrives - I may even be there for the delivery. I would appreciate any info about customs regarding delivery, after care, baby care (other than the usual) I am honored to be asked and want to be a help not a hinderance - I will travel to visit other students too during my 4 weeks.

Childcare customs changes from time to time, and some prefer to follow specific customs, some don't. Mothers learn all about it at the public health center and the hospital/clinic of their choice. Even grandmother and mother tend to disagree with each other due to generation gap :)

The best thing for you to do is probably to just ask the mother what she wants you to do and just listen to her. That's what I do when I baby-sit my neighbor.

But generally speaking, during the first month after birth, mothers are encouraged to stay home, relax, leave all the housework to someone else and take care of the baby. So if the mother doesn't mind, perhaps you can help with the kitchen or watch the baby while the mother is bathing.

Btw, in Japan, mother and baby stays at the hospital/clinic for about half a week, while in many countries they leave sooner.