Postpartum confinement

Chinese painting of a woman breastfeeding her baby, surrounded by supporters

Postpartum confinement is well-documented in China, where the custom is known as "sitting the month".

"Sitting the month": 坐月子 "Zuò yuè zi" in Mandarin or 坐月 "Co5 Jyut2" in Cantonese. The custom, documented as far back as the year 960,[10] is referred to as 'confinement' as women are advised to stay indoors for recovery from the trauma of birth and feed the newborn baby. Aspects of traditional Chinese medicine are included, with a special focus on eating foods considered to be nourishing for the body and help with the production of breastmilk. In Guangdong and neighboring regions, new mothers are barred from visitors until the baby is 12 days old, marked by a celebration called 'Twelve mornings' (known as 十二朝). From this day onwards, Cantonese families with a new baby usually share their joy through giving away food gifts, while some families mark the occasion by paying tribute to their ancestors.

In ancient China, women of certain ethnic groups in the South would resume work right after birth, and allow the men to practice postpartum confinement instead.[11] (See Couvade).

Other East Asian cultures have their own versions of "sitting the month", combining prescribed foods with proscribed activities. In Japan, the practice is known as Sango no hidachi (産後の肥立ち).

During confinement, mothers are told not to expose their body to physical agents such cold weather or wind, as these are claimed to be detrimental to their recovery. Specifically, mothers were traditionally not allowed[12] to have any contact with water (e.g. bathing or washing hair), to exert themselves by climbing stairs, to read books or cry, to sew, or to have sex.

Nowadays, however, new mothers may wash their hair or take a bath or shower infrequently during the postpartum period, but it is claimed to be important to dry their body immediately afterwards with a clean towel and their hair properly using a hair dryer. It is also claimed to be important for women to wrap up warm and minimize the amount of skin exposed, as it was believed that they may catch a cold during this vulnerable time.

Pork knuckle with ginger and black vinegar

The custom of confinement advises new mothers to choose energy and protein-rich foods to recover energy levels, help shrink the uterus and for the perineum to heal. This is also important for the production of breastmilk. Sometimes, new mothers only begin to consume special herbal foods after all the lochia is discharged.

A common dish is pork knuckles with ginger and black vinegar as pork knuckles are believed to help replenish calcium levels in the women. Ginger is featured in many dishes, as it is believed that it can remove the 'wind' accumulated in the body during pregnancy. Meat-based soup broths are also commonly consumed to provide hydration and added nutrients. Although not entirely backed by scientific evidence, for example, fish and papaya soup is considered to help produce breastmilk.[13]

In India it is called jaappa (also transliterated japa); in Pakistan, sawa mahina ("five weeks").

Most traditional Indians follow the 40-day confinement and recuperation period also known as the jaappa (in Hindi). A special diet to facilitate milk production and increase hemoglobin levels is followed. Sex is not allowed during this time. In Hindu culture, this time after childbirth was traditionally considered a period of relative impurity (asaucham), and a period of confinement of 10–40 days (known as purudu) was recommended for the mother and the baby. During this period, she was exempted from usual household chores and religious rites. The father was purified by a ritual bath before visiting the mother in confinement.

In the event of a stillbirth, the period of impurity for both parents was 24 hours.[14]

Many Indian subcultures have their own traditions after birth. This birth period is called Virdi (Marathi), which lasts for 10 days after birth and includes complete abstinence from puja or temple visits.

In Pakistan, postpartum tradition is known as sawa mahina ("five weeks").[15]

In Persian culture it is called chilla, i.e. "forty days".[16]

Korean women spend samchil-il (three seven days, 21 days) in confinement, receiving sanhujori (postpartum care). In the past, during the samchil-il period, geumjul (taboo rope) made with saekki and various symbolic objects, such as chili peppers (for a boy) and coal (for a girl), was hung over the gate to denote the childbirth and restrict visitor access.

Thailand has various customs. New mothers used to be encouraged to lie in a warm bed near the fire for 30 days, a practice known as yu fai. This has been adapted into a form of Thai massage. Kao krachome is a type of herbal medicine in which the steam from the boiled plants is inhaled. Ya dong involves herbal medicine taken internally. Thai immigrants to Sweden report using the steam bath to heal after childbirth, although the correct ingredients are not easy to find.[17] Thai Australians who had had caesarian sections felt that they did not need to - in fact, ought not to - undergo these rituals.[18]

A mother in Florence lying-in, from a painted desco da parto or birth tray of c. 1410. As women tend to the child, expensively dressed female guests are already arriving.

The term used in English, now old-fashioned or archaic, was once used to name maternity hospitals, for example the General Lying-In Hospital in London. A 1932 Canadian publication refers to lying-in as ranging from two weeks to two months.[19] These weeks ended with the re-introduction of the mother to the community in the Christian ceremony of the churching of women.

Lying-in features in Christian art, notably Birth of Jesus paintings. One of the gifts presented to the new mother in Renaissance Florence was a desco da parto, a special form of painted tray. Equivalent presents in contemporary culture include baby showers and push presents.

Special foods included caudle, a restorative drink. "Taking caudle" was a metonym for postpartum social visits.

In Latin American countries it is called la cuarentena, i.e. "forty days" (a cognate with the English word "quarantine"). It is practised in parts of Latin America, and amongst immigrant communities in the United States.[20] It is described as "intergenerational family ritual that facilitated adaptation to parenthood", including some paternal role reversal.[21]