Abstract
Background'Sitting month' is a Chinese tradition for women's postpartum custom. The present study aims to explore the postpartum dietary and health practices of puerperal women and identify their influential factors in three selected regions of Hubei, China.MethodsA cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted in the selected urban, suburban and rural areas in the province of Hubei from 1 March to 30 May 2003. A total of 2100 women who had given birth to full-term singleton infants in the past two years were selected as the participants. Data regarding postpartum practices and potentially related factors were collected through questionnaire by trained investigators.ResultsDuring the puerperium, 18% of the participants never ate vegetables, 78.8% never ate fruit and 75.7% never drank milk. Behaviour taboos such as no bathing, no hair washing or teeth brushing were still popular among the participants. About half of the women didn't get out of the bed two days after giving birth. The average time they stayed in bed during this period was 18.0 h. One third of them didn't have any outdoor activities in that time periods. The educational background of both women and their spouses, location of their residence, family income, postnatal visit, nutrition and health care educational courses were found to be the influencing factors of women's postpartum practices.ConclusionTraditional postpartum dietary and health behaviours were still popular among women in Hubei. Identifying the factors associated with traditional postpartum practices is critical to develop better targeting health education programs. Updated Information regarding postpartum dietary and health practices should be disseminated to women.
Highlights
The postpartum period, or puerperium, starts about an hour after the delivery of the placenta and includes the following six weeks [1]
According to Chinese traditions, the first 30 or 40 days postpartum is recognized as a special time period for behaviour restrictions and a state for convalescence
Based on Chinese traditional medicine, postpartum women are in a 'weak' state because of 'Qi' deficiency and blood loss [3]
Summary
The postpartum period, or puerperium, starts about an hour after the delivery of the placenta and includes the following six weeks [1]. According to Chinese traditions, the first 30 or 40 days postpartum is recognized as a special time period for behaviour restrictions and a state for convalescence. Based on Chinese traditional medicine, postpartum women are in a 'weak' state because of 'Qi' deficiency and blood loss [3] Their body can be attacked by 'heat' or 'cold ', which may cause some health problems like dizziness, headache, backache and arthragia in the month or in later years. Bathing and hair washing should be restricted to prevent possible headache and body pain in later years Foods such as fruits, vegetables, soybean products and cold drinks which are considered 'cold' should be avoided [4,5]. These traditional postnatal believes and practices are often passed down from senior females in the family to the younger generations [4]
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