The first few weeks after childbirth can often be a time when everything is about the baby; caring for a new baby’s needs, the feeding, changing, sleeping, plus a revolving door of visitors make it a busy time for a new mom and often the importance of her own need for rest can be severely neglected.
In some cultures, postpartum is more about providing a specific period of time after the birth for the new mom to rest and recover.
In traditional Chinese culture this period of time is known as zueo yuezi or 'Sitting the Month'. Carrying or lifting anything is prohibited, the new mom is waited on and expected to rest, being well looked after so she can focus on breastfeeding and nourishing the baby in comfort and without distractions.
In some cultures, postpartum is more about providing a specific period of time after the birth for the new mom to rest and recover.
In traditional Chinese culture this period of time is known as zueo yuezi or 'Sitting the Month'. Carrying or lifting anything is prohibited, the new mom is waited on and expected to rest, being well looked after so she can focus on breastfeeding and nourishing the baby in comfort and without distractions.
For new immigrant women living in Canada, often their mother's will travel from China to come and take care of them from the last month of pregnancy and throughout the postpartum period ( the fourth trimester) because they are familiar with how to prepare the correct warming foods and specific herbal baths. The new mom is not allowed to walk barefoot and must stay dressed warmly to keep the postpartum body warm. Because the emphasis is on warmth, cold foods are prohibited, as they are believed to weaken the physical health of the new mom, warm foods are given to rebuild strength after the hard work of labour and birth.
‘Sitting the month’ may not be perfect as being confined indoors may become frustrating and get a bit ‘cabin feverish’ for a new mother.
As one new mom who has lived in Canada for a while told me that she found ‘sitting the month’ too long to stay indoors and found it hard, (it can last anywhere from 30 to 45 days). However, the hot foods, the soups and porridge, as well as staying warm, she told me, were of benefit and she believed this did give her strength.
‘Sitting the month’ may not be perfect as being confined indoors may become frustrating and get a bit ‘cabin feverish’ for a new mother.
As one new mom who has lived in Canada for a while told me that she found ‘sitting the month’ too long to stay indoors and found it hard, (it can last anywhere from 30 to 45 days). However, the hot foods, the soups and porridge, as well as staying warm, she told me, were of benefit and she believed this did give her strength.
In Mexico and Guatemala, some postpartum traditions include receiving a full body massage and a warm herbal steam bath. Traditionally the midwife takes care of the new mother after childbirth and will use her Rebozo shawl in a special massage to ‘close the body’. The Rebozo is a traditional woven cloth used ceremoniously throughout a woman’s life, often used as a baby carrier it is particularly useful during labour to massage a woman and is a favourite ‘tool’ for midwives and birth doulas.
Used in the postpartum period by the midwife, the ritual of ‘closing the body’ by gently massaging with the Rebozo shawl is given one to three times during the period of forty days postpartum, it is nurturing, containing and grounding for the new mom, and brings her back into her body and herself.
Used in the postpartum period by the midwife, the ritual of ‘closing the body’ by gently massaging with the Rebozo shawl is given one to three times during the period of forty days postpartum, it is nurturing, containing and grounding for the new mom, and brings her back into her body and herself.
Women in France are in the desirable position of having access to free pelvic floor physiotherapy after childbirth and in the UK a woman will be visited by an NHS health visitor after the birth and the new mom will be given as much support and care as she needs. Good free or affordable supports such as this are something that is missing in Canadian health care, there is a huge gap here in postpartum care.
There is something to be said about taking good care of mom directly after the birth for a few weeks, to ‘mother the mother’, giving her time to rest, time with her new baby to bond and to breastfeed without too many distractions. Perhaps not to the same extreme of zueo yuezi, never the less there is much we can learn from other cultures in the care of women postpartum.
As Christiane Northrup, M.D. says, “If I was running the country, I’d make sure that every postpartum woman had full-time help for cooking and cleaning for at least two months after the baby was born and that she had time for a nap or two every single day.” “hear, hear” to that!
As Christiane Northrup, M.D. says, “If I was running the country, I’d make sure that every postpartum woman had full-time help for cooking and cleaning for at least two months after the baby was born and that she had time for a nap or two every single day.” “hear, hear” to that!
RSS Feed