Sitting Month or Zuo Yuezi

EdgarAllenPoo

MY wife is Chinese and we're expecting our first baby in September. She has told me that for a month after the baby is born there are certain things she can/can't do/eat/drink and certain things that I have to do (that normally my mother in law would have to do).

I've been reading up on this sitting month or Zuo Yuezi and parts of it make sense (eating certain food to replace dietary protein and iron) while others seem like gibberish (not bathing/washing hair for a month, little or no fresh air).

Does anyone have any experience of this? I've pretty much been told toe the line or it's back to live with mammy in China for a month when the time comes.

Any advice?

hunnymonster

while the lack of washing and fresh air does seem a little strange, I would be inclined to say that your wife is going through some pretty huge physical and emotional changes and if helping her through it by following her traditions (of course assuming they're not bad for her or baby) then what harm?

Das Kitty

Is there anyone you could contact to get help with the Sitting Month? You'll have a lot to do if it's just you. It might be good to get help from someone else who's completely familiar with the tradition.

If she happens to need a section she will need to get out of bed and walk around for the scar to heal properly. Make sure someone at the hospital drives this home if it happens to be the case.

How Strange

I agree with hunnymonster, even if you think it's gibberish it's very important that you support her. Speaking as a first time mam to an 11 week old, my hormones were crazy after giving birth and I was completely exhausted and I think I'd have been very upset if my husband hadn't have supported me 100%.

I don't understand the not washing but the tradition seems like a period of recuperation for the new mother. Most cultures probably have something similar and we used to do it here (my granny told me what it like in her day) but nowadays we're all in such a hurry to get out and about shopping etc that we dont allow ourselves a period of recovery from the most exhausting thing we ever do in our lives.

The best advice I got was not to get dressed for two weeks so you stay in bed and that's just what I did.

brockvale

Yes, we Chinese have this culture of sitting month, its really just to allow her body recovers slowly back to normal. nothing to worry too much.

some people do say women shouldn't even touch cold water during this month, otherwise the cold will get into her bones and she will suffer when she gets old.. thats probably not true, but it is better for her to stay warm...

Cat Melodeon

I'd just go with it. It used to be the same here - for a month after the birth a woman had a period of 'confinement' which really meant she got to stay in bed, not do any housework, had time to heal, time to get breastfeeding going etc. There are physiological and emotional reasons for it - I had 2 weeks of my partner being at home with me and would have loved for that time to have lasted longer. Regarding the washing etc, it won't do her any harm and she may eventually feel the need to have a wash. I'd go along with whatever she feels is right, although I would question if that involved not taking the doctor's advice re wound care etc (if such is needed), particularly if she doesn't have someone available to her who can advice on the traditional Chinese alternatives to what the doctor is recommending.

Here's an academic research paper on 'the sitting month' that might give you a better insight into the practice:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1636040/

idayang

I don't think all the old Chinese rules are right as some of them were made due to bad circumstance in the old days----different people and nation have different odd taboo;)

You may suggest your wife read some Chinese modern guide books. She would found Chinese modern doctors suggest delivery women clean themselves as soon as their bodies permit. She could download ebooks free of charge from http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/ or buy some books from Chinese websites such as http://www.dangdang.com.

EdgarAllenPoo wrote: »

MY wife is Chinese and we're expecting our first baby in September. She has told me that for a month after the baby is born there are certain things she can/can't do/eat/drink and certain things that I have to do (that normally my mother in law would have to do).

I've been reading up on this sitting month or Zuo Yuezi and parts of it make sense (eating certain food to replace dietary protein and iron) while others seem like gibberish (not bathing/washing hair for a month, little or no fresh air).

Does anyone have any experience of this? I've pretty much been told toe the line or it's back to live with mammy in China for a month when the time comes.

Any advice?