Here’s a brief section from a research article regarding the Chinese Postpartum or puerperium period and traditions that are commonly practiced. You can read the entire article here.
The postpartum period, or puerperium, starts about an hour after the delivery of the placenta and includes the following six weeks [1]. By six weeks after delivery, most of the changes of pregnancy, labor, and delivery have resolved and the body has reverted to the nonpregnant state [1,2]. The postpartum period is a very special phase in the life of a woman. Her body needs to heal and recover from pregnancy and childbirth. A good postpartum care and well balanced diet during puerperal period is very important for the health of a woman.
According to Chinese traditions, the first 30 or 40 days postpartum is recognized as a special time period for behaviour restrictions and a state for convalescence. This period is called ‘sitting month’ or ‘doing the month’. Based on Chinese traditional medicine, postpartum women are in a ‘weak’ state because of ‘Qi’ deficiency and blood loss [3]. Their body can be easily attacked by ‘heat’ or ‘cold ‘, which may cause some health problems like dizziness, headache, backache and arthragia in the month or in later years. Therefore, Chinese women are advised to follow a specific set of food choices and health care practices. For example, the puerperal women should stay inside and not go outdoors; all windows in the room should be sealed well to avoid wind. Bathing and hair washing should be restricted to prevent possible headache and body pain in later years. Foods such as fruits, vegetables, soybean products and cold drinks which are considered ‘cold’ should be avoided [4,5]. In contrast, foods such as brown sugar, fish, chicken and pig’s trotter which are considered ‘hot’ should be encouraged [5]. It is believed that if a woman does not observe these restrictions, she may suffer a poor health at her later life. These traditional postnatal believes and practices are often passed down from senior females in the family to the younger generations [4].
