Doubt

Err. I dont know how to start it. Hmmm. Okay!

Doctors and experts say pregnancy period for human beings is 40 weeks or nine months.

But why in tamil nadu it is always mentioned as 10 months? I mean the pregnancy period.
We have lots of amma songs, which say that it is 10 months (Neeyum 10 maasam naanum 10 maasam, eeraindhu maadhangal karuvoadu enai thaangi etc).

Why this confusion? Or is like it in sanga kaalam it was 10 months and later it got reduced to 9 months?

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38 Responses to Doubt

  1. shub says:

    i have also wondered about thiS esplly when it comes to dialogues…that loosely translate to “I have borne you in my tummy(!!) for 10 months” (can’t risk unleashing my tam here u see! :D )
    ask ur mom! or better yet, ur crush S! ;)
    :D

  2. visithra says:

    I know the answer but can’t remember.

    On another note, the Chinese count their age including the months in the womb. So when the child is born its already 1. :ppp

  3. sathish says:

    believe 10 months is ideal time… these days due to so many factors the period has got reduced…

  4. Maverick says:

    Oru kuthumathipaa Round off panni solraanga pola irukku.

  5. Rajesh says:

    Hi!

    used to frequent your blog at blogspot…this one’s even better!

    As for your doubt, it seems it’s not even 9 months – 266 days is the official count…not sure why our tamil ‘forefathers’ got it wrong!!

  6. Uma says:

    In fact I think the gestational period is meant to be slightly less than 9 months. Sathish I somehow don’t believe in your argument that 10 months is ideal time, I would say its time to panic if the pregnancy is 10 months as the baby is well overdue by then.

    Would it be possible that they always say pathu maasam sumandhu pethen etc etc based on the lunar calender rather than the solar one? As Maverick says oru kuthumadhipa round off panni 10 months aakeetangaannu me believes too.

    I am sure someone with medical knowledge will scream at me any minute now, I shall go and hide :)

  7. Kaps says:

    I think the 10 months thingie is restricted only to movie dialogues and songs. It is not used elsewhere. Most of us grow up watching movies and hence there is the wrong notion that the standard period is 10 months.

  8. Krishna says:

    May be someone thought 40 weeks = 40 weeks/4 months = 10 months ?? (Assuming 1 month = 4 weeks appr)

  9. Krishna says:

    And iam still wondering how people get all sorts of doubts like these :) )

  10. Ravi says:

    Interesting comments. I think Uma & Krishna are perhaps close to the answer. ;)

  11. ramya says:

    very cool design. pleasant too.
    strange you should bring this up now… we were discussing it just a few months ago… wondering where this 10 months came from… i’m inclined to agree with uma though i have no evidence to back it up… 10 months by the tamil calender…

    cheers!

  12. Sebastian says:

    This explains why our southindian heroins are so large… The babies stay inside for 10 months rather than regular 9 :)

  13. Uma says:

    Sebastian that is funny :)

    Ferrari ore oru doubtu, ippdi ellam ungallukku epdi blog panradhukku ideas varudhu?

  14. Shub,

    I havent even said a hi to my crush. You want me to goto her and say ‘Hi. I am prabhu. I would like to know, why they say pregnancy period is 9 months?’. Naan nalla irukaradhu pidikaliya ;-) ?

    Visithra,

    Kaettu sollunga :-)

  15. Sathish,

    Maybe :-)

    Maverick,

    Decimal round pannina parava illai. Integer round pannitaangale!

  16. Rajesh,

    Thanks :-)

    Uma,

    Tamil calendar la kooda 12 months dhaane? And the no of months in a tamil month depends on the year. So if they are going to come up with a generic period of 10 months, there should be some other reason! But yours was an interesting way to look at it

  17. Kaps,

    If I am not wrong, the movie dialogues thing came from sangakala tamil literature :-)

    Krishna and Uma,

    I got this doubt, when I was listening to the song ‘Amma endru azhaikaadha uyir illaye’ :-)
    And ‘sindhanai sei maname’ appadinu periyavanga solli irukkaanga :-D

  18. Ravi,

    Ungalukku answer theriyuma sir?

    Ramya,

    Welgum welgum. Kar pakkam eppo unga kadaikaNN paarvai?

  19. Sebastian,

    That was a good one. He he!

  20. sathish says:

    what krishna says might actually be true. its calculated as 280 days/40 weeks from conception. which is why it roughly translates to 10 months. chk this out..

    http://www.babiesonline.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/

  21. Anand says:

    I think the reason is that it is calculated from the start of the month when the baby is conceived according to the tamil calendar. So even if the baby is conceived at the fag end of the month, it is calculated as 1 month. So there is a high probablity that most babies come out in the 10th month.
    Atleast that is the reason I got when doing the same research…:-)

  22. Jacky says:

    May be the lyricist who started it all was an overdue baby.

  23. The Optimist says:

    I dont realy think there is a fixed time period for all this..

    It could happen earlier or late…i believe…some complications may arise nah!!
    Towards the end its all abt approximations i guess..

    Some one correct me if i’m wrong

  24. Aravind says:

    My sister is expecting her baby any day now, but for some reason it gets postphoned. Madras veyila pathi kaetitu, innum 2 weeks vulle iruka mudivu panidutho ennomo. but for whatever reason, “pathu masam sumandhu paethein”..it sort of rymes…u know

  25. * says:

    The reason is simple – “Omboooodhu” will spoil the rhyme structure of a sentence compared to “pathu”. The approximation is on the higher side since “ettu” will imply a miscarriage or a retarded kid. “eeraindhu” sounds less crude than the scientifically precise “eernaaldrai”.

  26. Prabha says:

    Enna oru doubt..aana i dunno the answer :(

  27. Praveen says:

    Takes 9 months and 9 days normally right? So it effectively is in the 10th month the baby is born. Adhaan matteru :)

  28. Sathish and Anand,

    Thanks for the info :-)

    Jacky,

    I dont think Captain can write lyrics :-D

  29. The Optimist,

    kadasiya enna solla vare?

    Aravind,

    Enna panradhu. Naama ellarum 10 maasam 10 maasam apapdinu kaettu pazhaghittom :-)

  30. *,

    LOL :-D

    Prabha,

    Inniku lunch saapdadhe. Sevikku unavilaadha pozhudhu etc etc appadinu periyavanga tellirukaanga

  31. Praveen,

    9.9 rounded off to 10? :-P

  32. Maverick says:

    Global warming!!!
    Andha kaalathula 10 months aa irundhu Global warming made it 9 months. OK aa? Stop cutting the trees.

  33. Maverick,

    Indha rate la you should be joining PMK soon :-)

  34. Vikkki says:

    Adhu onnum illai boss.. namma oorula 9 kku vera oru double meaning irukku… Adhanaala thaan “9 maasam sumandhu petha pullai” nnu solradhillai.. “9 maasathulai petha pullai 9 aa porakkum” nnu munnorgal ( enakku munaadi line la nikkuraven) sonaargal!

  35. Manasa says:

    I accept vikkki’s comments,.. nee 9 ah? . i mean you born by 9 months or 10 months..

  36. Raman says:

    Namma mamingallam kanakkila konjam soonyam
    Aani madhiyil irundhu avani maadham mudhal vaaram varai eppadi kanakku poduvargal theriyuma – ani, adi, avani ‘moonu maasam’ Indha madhiri than kanakku pottu onbatharku badhilaaga ‘pathu maasam’ sumandhu endru vazhakkil vandhirukka vaendum.

    muyarchi nandraagavaey irukkirathu – thodarattum pani !!

    Raman

  37. sushmita says:

    10 months?? Oh well i guess i havent heard these songs..and even If i did i wouldnt have understood them much..well this is a news to me now…:).Nice blog by the way..looks like you are one helluva ferrari fan..

  38. Hi Sushmita,

    Thanks :-)