In Taiwan, as well as other Asian countries, after a woman gives birth, she usually does something called “zhuo yue zhi.” Literally, it means “sitting for a month.” In a nutshell, the woman spends a month resting and recovering her body. While some women will do this in the comfort of their own home, many others, like my wife, will go to a special postpartum care center.
At the postpartum care center that Jessie is staying at, a staff of nurses helps to take of Caitlyn. Think of it as staying at a hotel with a 24-hour babysitting service. They bathe and change the baby for you. When it’s time to feed the baby, they call your room, and you go to pick up her up. When the baby’s done feeding, she goes back to the nurses. If Jessie’s unable to complete the feeding, the nurses will help bottle feed the baby for you. A doctor also comes in twice a week to check on the health of the baby.
There are also other benefits to staying at a center. Ours has weekly classes that teach the women how to care for themselves and their child. Doctors come in as guest lecturers, and you can ask them any questions you might have. Specially prepared medicinal meals are also given to help the body recover faster.
While I’m all for this practice of “zuo yue zhi,” there are things that do need some minor tweaking. For instance, there’s a belief that you shouldn’t bathe, shower, or wash your hair for the month that you’re resting. It’s thought that doing so might increase the chances of catching a cold since your immune system is probably in a weakened state after giving birth.
I can understand this, but for a whole month? Come on! I mean, once, I went a week without showering or changing underwear just to see if I could do it. But this, this is just borderline barbaric. Jessie broke down within a few days and went to get her hair washed despite being advised not to. And she showered soon after that. I figure, as long as you’re not taking a shower in freezing water and then skipping around the room naked and sopping wet, there really shouldn’t be a problem.
Women are also encouraged to not leave the house and do nothing besides stay in bed and nurse. Again, I can understand this belief, as a woman needs time for her birth canal to heal. If she is constantly walking around, it only increases the amount of time needed to recover.
This one’s nearly driven Jessie insane. No matter how hard I try to get her to lie down, she seems to constantly be finding something that she needs to do. And because she’s walking around so much, she’s still in a lot of pain. But while resting is good, I think there also needs to be a balance for walking and receiving fresh air. Being bed-ridden for a whole month can’t be too healthy for the body.
Although most people in the Western world might think the custom of “zuo yue zhi” a bit strange, I personally think it’s a good idea, minus the no showering and staying all day in bed part. This is in stark contrast to America, where once you leave the hospital, you’re on your own to fend for yourself. You can’t expect to take care of your baby if you aren’t taking care of yourself first. Jessie will be the first to attest to that.
At the postpartum care center that Jessie is staying at, a staff of nurses helps to take of Caitlyn. Think of it as staying at a hotel with a 24-hour babysitting service. They bathe and change the baby for you. When it’s time to feed the baby, they call your room, and you go to pick up her up. When the baby’s done feeding, she goes back to the nurses. If Jessie’s unable to complete the feeding, the nurses will help bottle feed the baby for you. A doctor also comes in twice a week to check on the health of the baby.
There are also other benefits to staying at a center. Ours has weekly classes that teach the women how to care for themselves and their child. Doctors come in as guest lecturers, and you can ask them any questions you might have. Specially prepared medicinal meals are also given to help the body recover faster.
While I’m all for this practice of “zuo yue zhi,” there are things that do need some minor tweaking. For instance, there’s a belief that you shouldn’t bathe, shower, or wash your hair for the month that you’re resting. It’s thought that doing so might increase the chances of catching a cold since your immune system is probably in a weakened state after giving birth.
I can understand this, but for a whole month? Come on! I mean, once, I went a week without showering or changing underwear just to see if I could do it. But this, this is just borderline barbaric. Jessie broke down within a few days and went to get her hair washed despite being advised not to. And she showered soon after that. I figure, as long as you’re not taking a shower in freezing water and then skipping around the room naked and sopping wet, there really shouldn’t be a problem.
Women are also encouraged to not leave the house and do nothing besides stay in bed and nurse. Again, I can understand this belief, as a woman needs time for her birth canal to heal. If she is constantly walking around, it only increases the amount of time needed to recover.
This one’s nearly driven Jessie insane. No matter how hard I try to get her to lie down, she seems to constantly be finding something that she needs to do. And because she’s walking around so much, she’s still in a lot of pain. But while resting is good, I think there also needs to be a balance for walking and receiving fresh air. Being bed-ridden for a whole month can’t be too healthy for the body.
Although most people in the Western world might think the custom of “zuo yue zhi” a bit strange, I personally think it’s a good idea, minus the no showering and staying all day in bed part. This is in stark contrast to America, where once you leave the hospital, you’re on your own to fend for yourself. You can’t expect to take care of your baby if you aren’t taking care of yourself first. Jessie will be the first to attest to that.
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| Jessie's room for a month |
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| Getting some rest before feeding time |
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| A typical meal |
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| Yummy in my tummy |
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| Jessie's mom and my dad |
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| Looking at his granddaughter |
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