On the Confinement Month

Welcome back to Babylicious! Thanks for visiting again. If you've enjoyed reading my blog, subscribe to my RSS feed to get regular updates on what's new at Babylicious.

Ever since I’ve been told I’m getting a confinement lady, my Western-educated brain has been trying to consolidate the differences in practices between East and West. I’ve been looking up and reading as much as I can about confinement practices in the hopes of identifying the “good” practices to adhere to from the ones that I can safely ignore.

I realise that every belief is based upon some fundamental truth and expounded upon with beliefs and superstitions. In order to gain the best of both worlds, I wanted to know the scientific reasoning behind the practices so I could remove the layers of superstitions and just take away the beneficial aspects.

I, personally do not have any issues accommodating these age-old confinement practices so long as there are no safety issues, and it isn’t too much of an inconvenience to me. If there are truly benefits that I can see from specific practices, I am also willing to subject myself to more than a little inconvenience for baby’s sake. For instance, I’ve been told numerous times that breastfeeding is an arduous task, especially in the early days, but for the sake of the baby, I am willing to endure it.

The main difficulty I have encountered is the lack of documented material which helps separate fact from fiction – other than the personal testimonials and experiences of mothers. The following two excerpts are some scant pieces of information I have been able to garner.

Below is an explanation of Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, from “Asian Mothers Western Birth 2ed: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Childrearing : the Asian Experience in… By Pranee Liamputtong Rice”

According to the theory, health is the outcome of humoral equilibrium; illness due to an imbalance of either hot of cold humours in the body, and to a lesser degree, to imbalances of “wet” and “dry” humours and to “wing” or air. The diagnosis of an illness identifies the imbalance of hot or cold and treatment involves steps to correct this – hence a hot illness (such as measles) is treated with foods that are regarded as cold (including many fruits and vegetables), whilst a cold illness (respiratory infections are frequently so classified) is treated with hot foods and drinks, which are often high in energy and/or fats or sugars (depending on the area, these may include chicken, ginger, black pepper and coffee). Medication may also be classified as hot or cold, as determined by the imputed effect of the food or medicine on the body.

Physiological events such as pregnancy and parturition also disrupt humoural balance, and require careful dietary and other behavioural precautions to maintain good health during that period and to prevent later illness. The body is said to be “hot” in pregnancy, although in some cases the first trimester is regarded as “cold” (Manderson and Mathews, 1985), and the humoral balances change as the pregnancy progresses.

There is another article about about confinement practices on Urban Baby called “‘Doing the month’: Ancient tradition meets modern motherhood – by Anne Williams” which provided some great insight behind some of the reasons for certain confinement practices. Here is an excerpt:

Where did confinement come from, and how do mothers safely honour a tradition whose basis was formed long before modern medicine?

Zuo Yuezi

The Chinese tradition of Zuo Yuezi (Cho Yuet in Cantonese) dictates that for 40 days from the birth of their children, mothers must stay inside and avoid bathing, washing their hair or brushing their teeth. They must cover their heads to prevent chills, keep the windows closed, and remain in bed for as long as possible.

Zuo Yuezi – which loosely translates into doing the month – also requires mothers to avoid all forms of stress, including crying, shouting and talking for an entire cycle of the moon. While ‘doing the month,’ mothers can’t eat ‘cold’ foods such as cool drinks, ice cream, fruits or vegetables. Instead, they must load up on ‘hot’ foods like boiled eggs and chicken and fish soup. Along with the tradition is a famous Chinese postpartum ‘decoction’ known as Shenghua Tang – an herbal cleansing and purifying remedy.

Origins in Chinese Medicine Medical writings about Zuo Yuezi can be traced to the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911). According to Yi-Li Wu, associate professor of history at Albion College in Michigan, early Chinese medical writings described conditions such as eclampsia, maternal tetanus and other postpartum diseases that are still deadly today if left untreated.

Essentially, ‘doing the month’ was a primitive form of quarantine to prevent postpartum complications. If you analyze Zuo Yuezi in an early medical context, many of the practices made sense. The avoidance of bathing and teeth-brushing was a way to prevent water-borne illness; staying indoors helped women and babies avoid exposure to communicable diseases, and covering the head protected new mothers from catching a ‘chill.’

Food-wise, the proteins and iron found in eggs, meat and fish provided mothers with strength and muscle repair. Rest and heavy consumption of hot soup helped prevent dehydration, kept moms warm and was believed to promote the production of breast milk. Most importantly, the legendary herbal decoction of Shenghua Tang was thought to purify the female body and help slow vaginal bleeding.

The Power of Superstition

‘Doing the month’ wasn’t only a product of Chinese medicine. Without scientific explanations for the phenomena of the times, many ancient cultures developed devout beliefs in the supernatural.

For example, some of the fear of leaving home in the first month after birth had to do with evil spirits seeking to steal babies. More common was the belief that spirits and pregnant women were out to steal breast milk. Out of these superstitions came the avoidance of expectant mothers and strangers during Zuo Yuezi.

Baby snatchers were the reason that the Chinese did not give first-born children their official names until ‘doing the month’ was over. Instead, a newborn was given a little name or nickname to trick the evil spirits. Many parents continued to use the nickname throughout their children’s lives.

Zuo Yuezi Today

Whether or not you believe in Chinese medicine or superstitions surrounding ‘doing the month,’ there is no doubt that belief plays a significant role in one’s feeling of health and well-being.

For views of mothers who have been through confinement, you can find them at My Mom’s Best. I find myself particularly in sync with “Mom to Leonard, Lucas and Laurenz“. Dobbs also provides her study of one where she did not follow the rules of confinement and appears to be free from the common ailments believed to be due to non-adherence to the rules.

If you’re interested to read more about confinement practices, there’s a good article from Nursing Center: “Postpartum Beliefs and Practices Among Non-Western Cultures“. Unfortunately there is no explanation between the good and the bad of each practice.

On the consumption of herbs and their effect on breastfeeding, there is a good article on Breastfeeding.com, although the list is not a comprehensive one. Whilst it is okay to consume some herbs in small quantities, certain herbs are not advised for breastfeeding mothers. I would suggest to be aware of what you are consuming and to err on the side of caution where doubt arises.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Other posts that might interest you:

• Books for Confinement Cooking
• Advice for New Moms
• Ginger the Spice of Confinement
• The Story Behind the Confinement
• Post-Delivery Bowel Function

What is RSS? How do I subscribe via RSS?