Sitting the Month

After giving birth, a Chinese woman traditionally "sits the month," or zuo yuezi, a custom which means almost exactly what it says. The recovering new mother is relegated to bed for 1 month, often lying down most of the time, to allow her body to recover from the trauma of childbirth. She will care for her new baby, but be otherwise exempt from household chores.

This seems to be a very common custom. I say with assurance because I am not sitting the month. Annika and I have left the house nearly every day since we returned home. And at each outing, at least one person will exclaim at our being out of the house so soon! She is so little! people will cry, presumably out of surprise that we would leave home with her. Although Westerners will react this way as well, a stronger note of surprise seems attached to the Chinese reaction - especially that of the old ladies in our neighborhood.

Wendy explained the custom to me, at least as she practiced it. The woman is supposed to stay in bed for 1 month, and the baby is supposed to remain in the house for that time as well. I asked Wendy if it got boring, and she confirmed that it did. She said many women sleep a lot, but she was not so tired and so they allowed her to sit in a chair and talk to her many visitors.

Traditionally, the woman also does not shower or wash her hair, and stays away from cold water. Wendy placed the roots of this in poverty and a cold climate - to retain heat and rebuild a healthy body in a cold house, its best to stay away from the cold water. While some women follow this rule, my impression is that its talked about far more often than observed.

Wendy also explained that women eat certain foods, notably eggs. At least 3 eggs a day for the entire month. Hard boiled eggs dyed red are also the traditional gift to celebrate the birth of a child, much like distribution of cigars a generation ago in the states.

After being quizzed on this Chinese tradition, Wendy asked if my mother or grandmother have pains in their backs and their joints, and watery eyes. She explained that these are the consequences for leaving the house during this month of recovery - should a woman face a strong wind at this time, she will be subject to such pains and problems once she gets older. She seemed quite surprised that neither my mother nor my grandmother suffer from such problems, and that they both certainly left their beds during that first month. Her answer - maybe foreign people and Chinese people are different this way.

The people of Shanghai are a tolerant bunch. Being used to foreigners are neighbors, I don't receive more than a grin and a few clucks when local people see me out and about with my newborn child. But trust me - I receive those few clucks from every single person I come in contact with.