Ubume
Japanese yōkai of pregnant women / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ubume (Japanese: 産女) are Japanese yōkai of pregnant women.[1] They can also be written as 憂婦女鳥. Throughout folk stories and literature the identity and appearance of ubume varies. However, she is most commonly depicted as the spirit of a woman who has died during childbirth. Passersby will see her as a normal-looking woman carrying a baby. She will typically try to give the passerby her child then disappear.[2] When the person goes to look at the child in their arms, they discover it is only a bundle of leaves or large rock.[3] The idea that pregnant women who die and get buried become "ubume" has existed since ancient times; which is why it has been said that when a pregnant woman dies prepartum, one ought to cut the fetus out the abdomen and put it on the mother in a hug as they are buried. In some regions, if the fetus cannot be cut out, a doll would be put beside her.