Pregnancy #5?

Question

ok, those of you who have been following along know my wife is Chinese and that we live in China. Here it is custom for mom and newborn to be on house restriction for one month after the birth, with the exception of doctor visits. I can't seem to find out why this is and my wife can't explain it to me, other than it's custom. Any ideas why this might be and how it came about? Any insight please.

Answer 1

This Chinese custom stem from ancient Chinese medicinal beliefs of heat and wind… there is a strong belief in the importance of keeping the proper cold/hot balance in a person’s body, and pregnancy is believed to allow a lot of cold in, and the body has to be re-heated after this time.

It is a custom that a new mom just lays in bed for the first month with no household duties and takes care of the baby. Her husband might not even get near her during this time, it is just for mom and baby to bond/connect and for the mother to rest. She shouldn’t go out on a walk, or go out with friends. She shouldn’t go buy groceries. She should literally stay in bed. Many moms will also not drink water during this time, and only certain types of tea are allowed. And only certain foods are allowed, mostly food cooked in sesame oil and ginger and very few vegetables.

Women go through a lot when giving birth as well as carrying the baby for nine months; a women's body goes through a lot of stress. I wish Americans practiced this custom.

It is also believed that having s*x during pregnancy (a certain amount of months along), can poison the mom's body.

It is also a custom that Chinese women should avoid sitting on mats on the floor, gossiping, getting angry, and laughing too loud. It is said rubbing the belly too much makes the baby demanding.

Another custom, the baby gets a bath after 3 days along with  a ceremony involving female guests who place things such as fruits into the water. At 30 days, a Red Egg ceremony is held for the baby’s good fortune. And at 100 days, there is a big party where the baby is given many things for good fortune. One custom is to rub a chicken’s tongue on the baby’s mouth to give it the ability to speak well.

Everyone is different, and who knows, maybe this works.

Answer 2

Here in the states, it is recommended that babies not be brought out into public until they have had their first vaccines.  That is one reason why infant child care providers do not accept newborn children for daycare.  Most child care providers do not accept children any younger than six months because of the liability and heavy responsibility of caring for children that young.  Keep your wife and baby safe from germs by keeping her out of the public area.  There are too many germs out there!

Answer 3

it might be so that the mother can get her rest bc giving birth to a child is hard work.  the woman bleeds for almost a month after the baby is born and she needs time to heal and her body needs time to recooperate for all the trauma it went through giving birth.  i hope this answers your question.  it may not be the real reason but it seems reasonable to me.  best of luck!!

Answer 4

I agree with anonymous. Many years ago, it was not uncommon for a woman or the child or both to die during child birth. Because of this the mother was bedridden for at least a month after birth so as to recuperate and regain her strength. That month was also used to make sure that the baby would survive and would live a healthy life. Don't worry though! This was a long time ago and we now have such wonderful medical assistance that we don't have to worry about these things as much. I'm sure that the people of your town have just been used to the way things have always been and do not feel like changing. Humans don't like change very much, hehe. I hope you and your wife have a wonderful time with your baby and that it grows up healthy and happy! I really do. =)