Urban Chinese Women Research Articles

Doing the month (Zuo Yuezi): postpartum embodied practices and subjectivity among urban white-collar Chinese women

In China, the postnatal bodily experiences of urban white-collar women intricately relate to the tradition of “doing the month” (DTM). The DTM guidelines serve a dual purpose: they aid women in recuperating from postnatal frailty and act as cultural restrictions that govern women’s bodies as bearers of fertility for patrilineal families. This research delves into the postnatal embodied practices of white-collar Chinese women and their articulations of subjectivity during DTM. The findings enrich the theory of embodiment with empirical materials in terms of embodied cultural practice by illustrating how women exhibit embodied subjectivity at the intersections of traditional, modern, and gendered discourses. The findings reveal the affirmative bodily practices of women we interviewed: (i) They astutely employ both beneficial DTM regulations and non-DTM knowledge to support their own body’s recovery. They also procure professional services for enhanced recovery. (ii) They express embodied subjectivity during postnatal breastfeeding, which serves as a way to adapt to motherhood. (iii) From the viewpoint of social relations, mothers can devise coping mechanisms to assert agency during interactions with primary family members concerning breastfeeding and infant care. These findings transcend the literature on women’s body–self relations and extend to the examination of body–self–family relations from a postfeminist standpoint, thereby enriching embodiment theory by suggesting that cultural values and disciplines shape and inform the expression of subjectivity through the body–mind connection during embodied practices.

The impact of vacations on urban women's well-being from the perspective of feminist urbanism

Vacations are known to foster well-being outcomes, yet few researchers have accounted for the influence of individual attributes such as gender, residential setting, or cultural context. As a result, there is a noticeable gap in the well-being literature concerning well-being outcomes for female travelers whose subjectivities have been shaped in as well as by their residential environment (urban) and culture. Using qualitative inquiry informed by the feminist urbanism perspective, this study uncovered urban Chinese women's cognitive representations of well-being outcomes from vacations. Findings revealed that vacations provide liberation from cultural constraints, boosting of social bonds and relationship building, enabling reflection on life and personal identity, and fostering learning and personal growth. Our findings, which integrated a feminist urbanism perspective that allowed for the influence of context (e.g., culture) as well as gender, partly overlap with existing research but also introduced new cognitive representations of well-being that advance well-being research.

Gender, Work, and Leisure in Old Age in China and India.

This paper examines how paid and unpaid work affects leisure differently for older women and men in China and India. We use data from the World Health Organization's Study on Global Aging and Health. We find that urban China, with higher levels of public welfare and gender equality, represents the best scenario for older adults' leisure life in developing countries. Although urban Chinese women are disadvantaged relative to urban Chinese men, they still enjoy longer hours of leisure and relaxing leisure than both men and women in rural China, urban India and rural India. Furthermore, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition results show gender disparities in unpaid housework to be the primary driver of gender inequalities in leisure in all societies, albeit to varying degrees. These findings highlight the role of public welfare, gender equality, and the gendered consequences of the family support model in shaping older adults' leisure life.

Love, debauchery? On body writing from the perspective of the city

The Chinese urban literary context of the 1990s has brought the liberation of Chinese urban women's desires to a considerable depth. Some female writers, mainly Lin Bai, who were famous for their "body writing", introduced some unexpressed female body desires into literature for the first time. However, the rise of consumer culture destroyed this beautiful picture. The voyeuristic desire of men and society has also led to a part of women's culture that is gradually becoming vulgar, inferior, and commercially deviant. This paper focuses on "One Man's War" and analyzes the difference between "body writing" "traditional writing" and "love writing" in the context of urban culture by reading the original text and combining it with Sisu's "body writing" theory. By reading the original text and combining Sisu's "body writing" theory, we analyze the difference between "body writing" and "traditional writing", "love writing" and "erotic writing" in the context of urban culture, and reposition the value of "body writing" to explore its literary-historical significance.

Effects of a Comprehensive Dietary Intervention Program, Promoting Nutrition Literacy, Eating Behavior, Dietary Quality, and Gestational Weight Gain in Chinese Urban Women with Normal Body Mass Index during Pregnancy.

In urban Chinese women with normal body weight during pregnancy, we implemented a comprehensive dietary intervention program aimed at enhancing nutrition literacy, dietary quality, and gestational weight gain. The methods included both online and offline health education on prenatal nutrition, weekly weight monitoring, family back education practices, and real-time dietary guidance. The intervention was delivered to randomly assigned control and intervention group participants from gestational week 12 to week 24. The intervention group (n = 44; 100% complete data) showed significant differences (mean (SD)) compared to the control group (n = 42; 95.5% complete data) in nutrition literacy (53.39 ± 6.60 vs. 43.55 ± 9.58, p < 0.001), restrained eating (31.61 ± 7.28 vs. 28.79 ± 7.96, p < 0.001), Diet Quality Distance (29.11 ± 8.52 vs. 40.71 ± 7.39, p < 0.001), and weight gain within the first 12 weeks of intervention (4.97 ± 1.33 vs. 5.98 ± 2.78, p = 0.029). However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of gestational diabetes (2 (4.5%) vs. 4 (9.5%), p = 0.629). Participants in the intervention group reported an overall satisfaction score of 4.70 ± 0.46 for the intervention strategy. These results emphasize the positive role of comprehensive dietary intervention in promoting a healthy diet during pregnancy.

A Study on Female Consumers’ Perceptions of the Health Value of Visual Elements of Weight Loss Health Product Packaging

The obesity epidemic has evolved into a significant problem globally and poses a serious threat to the health of society. Despite increasing international research on obesity food packaging, the health value of visual elements in weight loss supplement packaging varies according to regional cultures and consumer groups. The scope of this study is the health perceptions of obese urban Chinese women regarding the design of visual elements of weight loss health product packaging. This study constructed a visual element index system for weight loss health product packaging in order to design a related questionnaire. The research team administered the online questionnaire to 305 obese women (aged 18–45+) in urban China from 22 June to 2 July 2022. The factors influencing the perceived health value of weight loss supplement packaging in the female obese group were examined using SPSS 26.0. A t-test analysis was conducted to derive the difference in the correlation between purchase status and brand identity. Linear regression analysis showed that age groups differed in package color and package shape, respectively. The study concluded that, first, there were differences in the perceptions of weight loss health product packaging among respondents with different purchase statuses; second, the older the respondents were, the more they perceived white packaging as having health value (p &lt; 0.05); third, the health marker’s shape had little or no statistical significance on the individuals (p &gt; 0.05); fourth, respondents who were older were more likely to think a cylindrical design has a benefit for their health than a square box shape (p &lt; 0.05) and an anthropomorphic shape was more likely to produce a healthy weight loss effect than cylindrical packaging (p &lt; 0.05); and younger people thought that an anthropomorphic shape was more likely to make them recognize the health effect than square box-shaped packaging (p &lt; 0.05).

The role of maternal age on adverse pregnancy outcomes among primiparous women with singleton birth: a retrospective cohort study in urban areas of China

Background Both young and advanced maternal age pregnancies have strong associations with adverse pregnancy outcomes; however, there is limited understanding of how these associations present in an urban environment in China. This study aimed to analyze the associations between maternal age and pregnancy outcomes among Chinese urban women. Methods We performed a population-based study consisting of 60,209 singleton pregnancies of primiparous women whose newborns were delivered after 20 weeks’ gestation between January 2012 and December 2015 in urban areas of China. Participants were divided into six groups (19 or younger, 20–24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39, 40 or older). Pregnancy outcomes include gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), preeclampsia, placental abruption, placenta previa, premature rupture of membrane (PROM), postpartum hemorrhage, preterm birth, low birthweight, small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA), fetal distress, congenital microtia, and fetal death. Logistic regression models were used to assess the role of maternal age on the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes with women aged 25–29 years as the reference group. Results The risks of GDM, preeclampsia, placenta previa, and postpartum hemorrhage were decreased for women at a young maternal age and increased for women with advanced maternal age. Both young and advanced maternal age increased the risk of preterm birth and low birthweight. Young maternal age was also associated with increased risk of SGA (aOR 1.64, 95% CI 1.46–1.83) and fetal death (aOR 2.08, 95% CI 1.35–3.20). Maternal age over 40 years elevated the odds of placental abruption (aOR 3.44, 95% CI 1.47–8.03), LGA (aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.09–1.98), fetal death (aOR 2.67, 95% CI 1.16–6.14), and congenital microtia (aOR 13.92, 95% CI 3.91–49.57). There were positive linear associations between maternal age and GDM, preeclampsia, placental abruption, placenta previa, PROM, postpartum hemorrhage, preterm birth, LGA and fetal distress (all P for linear trend < .05), and a negative linear association between maternal age and SGA (P for linear trend < .001). The analysis of the associations between maternal age and adverse fetal outcomes showed U-shape for preterm birth, low birth weight, SGA, fetal death and congenital microtia (all P for quadratic trend < .001). Conclusions Advanced maternal age predisposes women to adverse obstetric outcomes. Young maternal age manifests a bidirectional effect on adverse pregnancy outcomes. The findings may contribute to improving women’s antenatal care and management.

Barriers to sexual health-seeking behaviors for Chinese women.

Cognitive barriers to Chinese women's sexual health-seeking behaviours remained unclear. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the characteristics of the sexual health beliefs of Chinese women to clarify why they were reluctant to seek help for sexual issues. An online survey was undertaken from April to July 2020. A total of 3443 valid responses were gleaned (the effective rate was 82.6%), the participants of which were mainly Chinese urban women of childbearing age. Up to 66.0% (n=2271, the standardized rate was 66.8%~73.4%) felt ashamed of sexual health-related disorders. Most women (49.4%, n=1700) were strongly motivated to seek help for sexual issues but also had a great psychological impediment. Women with low motivation and a great psychological impediment were rare (6.4%, n= 219). The shame of sexual health-related disorders was the main barrier to sexual health-seeking behaviours for Chinese women, which should be given enough attention in related health services and sexual education.

“I’m not a feminist, but … ”: Hegemonic femininities and women’s autonomy revisited in a Chinese university

ABSTRACT In recent years, much academic and public attention has been drawn to a “feminist awakening” in China and its domestic backlashes, especially in popular media and internet forums. Moving from the online waves of women’s agitation to real-world interactions, how do young women in urban China today understand feminism in their everyday lives? To what extent are they scrutinizing their personal experiences with what they understand as “feminist principles,” and how do they reconcile expectations and challenges from the family, school, and workplace? As my interlocutors’ experiences and narratives indicate, urban Chinese women with high educational attainments are less likely to identify with submissive female roles as daughters, wives, and mothers. However, their attitudes toward the new motto of women’s autonomy are at least equally ambivalent. Situating individual life experiences within a broader theoretical discussion on hegemonic femininities, I seek to provide a nuanced look into such ambivalence by illustrating how my interlocutors approximate multiple, sometimes contradicting, frameworks of “ideal womanhood” in narrating their hopes and dilemmas. Moreover, I suggest the “sidestepping feminism” narrative deserves more serious scholarly attention as it may open up new possibilities for enriching and theorizing women’s studies in the Chinese context.

Characteristics of Chinese women in need of enhanced sexual health attention and at risk of hypoactive sexual desire disorder

BackgroundThe target population for women’s sexual health services in China was unclear. To identify high-risk individuals with psychological barriers to sexual health-seeking behaviors and those at high risk of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), we investigated correlates of Chinese women’s unwillingness to communicate sexual health, the shame of sexual health-related disorders, sexual distress, and HSDD.MethodsAn online survey was conducted from April to July 2020.ResultsWe received 3443 valid responses online (effective rate 82.6%). Participants were mainly Chinese urban women of childbearing age (median 26 years old, Q1-Q3 23–30). Women who knew little about sexual health knowledge (aOR 0.42, 95%CI 0.28–0.63) and were ashamed (aOR 0.32–0.57) of sexual health-related disorders were less willing to communicate sexual health. Age (aOR 4.29, 95%CI 2.26–8.17), low income (aOR 1.52–2.11), family burden (aOR 1.34–1.43), and living with friends (aOR 1.39, 95%CI 1.02–1.91) were independent correlates of women’s shame about sexual health-related disorders while living with a spouse (aOR 0.66, 95%CI 0.51–0.86) or children (aOR 0.77, 95%CI 0.62–0.96) were correlated with less shame. Age (aOR 0.98, 95%CI 0.96–0.99) and a postgraduate degree (aOR 0.45, 95%CI 0.28–0.71) were linked with less sexual distress of low sexual desire while having children (aOR 1.38–2.10), intense work pressure (aOR 1.32, 95%CI 1.10–1.60) and heavy family burden (aOR 1.43, 95%CI 1.07–1.92) increased women’s odds of having distress. Women with a postgraduate degree (aOR 0.42, 95%CI 0.19–0.90), more knowledge about sexual health (aOR 0.53–0.67), and decreased sexual desire caused by pregnancy, recent childbirth, or menopausal symptoms (aOR 0.60, 95%CI 0.41–0.85) were less likely to have HSDD, while they were more likely to have HSDD when their decreased sexual desire was due to other sexual issues (aOR 2.56, 95%CI 1.84–3.57) and partners’ sexual problems (aOR 1.72, 95%CI 1.23–2.39).ConclusionSexual health education and related services need to focus on psychological barriers of women with older age, insufficient knowledge of sexual health, intense work pressure, and poor economic conditions. The medical staff need to pay attention to the sexual health of women with intense work or life pressure and a history of gynecological disease. Low sexual desire is not equal to the sexual desire problem, which should be noticed in the future.

The menstrual cycle regularity and skin: irregular menstrual cycle affects skin physiological properties and skin bacterial microbiome in urban Chinese women

BackgroundThe regularity of the menstrual cycle directly affects women’s health. Many studies have focused on menstrual health; however, menstrual cycle regularity-related variations in skin physiological characteristics and skin microbiota have been seldom investigated.MethodsTo investigate the menstrual cycle regularity-related variations in skin physiological characteristics and skin microbiota of 197 cases of Chinese women aged 18–35 years living in shanghai in 2021. Based on a self-evaluation questionnaire, the volunteers were divided into three groups C1 (those with a regular menstrual cycle), C2 (those with a less regular menstrual cycle) and C3 (those with an irregular menstrual cycle). The physiological parameters of facial skin were measured by non-invasive methods and the skin microbiome was analyzed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing.ResultsIn the C3 group, the hydration content was significantly decreased (p < 0.05), the TEWL was significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the sebum content was increased (p > 0.05), indicating that the skin barrier integrity weakened with increased menstrual cycle irregularity. Additionally, the melanin level, L value and b value were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the C3 group, but the a value was significantly increased (p < 0.001), which indicated that the skin color became darker. Furthermore, the skin microbiota diversity decreased with increasing cycle irregularity, but the differences were not significant. The skin microbiota composition showed that the proportion of Firmicutes, Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus and Cutibacterium were increased in those with an irregular menstrual cycle, indicating that alterations in the ratio of bacterial phyla and/or genera might disturb skin homeostasis. Spearman correlation analysis revealed strong correlations between the microbiota and skin physiological parameters. Based on the associations among hormones, skin physiological parameters and skin microbiota, it is possible that the skin physiological parameters, as well as the skin microbial diversity and composition, change with hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle.ConclusionsAn irregular menstrual cycle can affect skin physiological characteristics and the skin microbiota. Female with an irregular menstrual cycle should strengthen skin care practices and use skin care products with moisturising and soothing effects to protect their skin.

Effects of passive smoking on severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy among urban Chinese nonsmoking women

BackgroundNausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is one of the most common pregnancy-associated symptoms, but little is known about the effects of passive smoking on this symptom. Passive smoking among women is widespread and severe in China due to the high proportion of men who smoke actively. The aim of this study is to examine the association between maternal passive smoking and severe NVP in early pregnancy among nonsmoking women in urban China. MethodsWe collected information on passive smoking status and severe NVP in early pregnancy based on an ongoing prospective cohort study conducted from October 2017 to May 2019 in Beijing, China. We used multivariable logistic model to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) after controlling for confounding factors. ResultsAmong 3064 participants who were involved in the final analysis, 7.4% (n = 227) were passive smokers and 9.8% (n = 299) reported severe NVP. After adjusting for potential confounders, passive smoking conferred an increased risk of NVP (adjusted OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.43). The frequency of exposure to second-hand smoke showed a positive relationship with the risk of severe NVP, and significant subgroup differences were also observed in stratified analyses by parity and education level. ConclusionsOur results suggested that maternal exposure to second-hand smoke remained to be a major public health problem in urban China, and that passive smoking during the first trimester may increase the risk of severe NVP among nonsmoking pregnant women. Measures should be taken to reduce the impact of second-hand smoke exposure on pregnant women.

Breast Cancer Screening Should Embrace Precision Medicine: Evidence by Reviewing Economic Evaluations in China.

The cost-effectiveness of conventional population-based breast cancer screening strategies (e.g. mammography) has been found controversial, while evidence shows that genetic testing for early detection of pathogenic variants is cost-effective. We aimed to review the economic evaluations of breast cancer screening in China to provide an information summary for future research on this topic. We searched the literature to identify the economic evaluations that examined breast cancer screening and testing in China, supplemented by hand-searching the reference lists of the included studies. We finally included five studies satisfying our inclusion criteria. Four articles examined mammography while the rest investigated multigene testing. The existing breast cancer screening programmes were found to be cost-effective among urban Chinese women, but one study concluded that they might cause harm to women in rural areas. Contextual factors, such as data absence, urban-rural disparity, willingness-to-pay threshold, and model design, imposed barriers to cost-effectiveness analysis. Multigene testing was found to be cost-effective and has a promising population impact among all women with breast cancer in China. Future research should investigate the cost-effectiveness of screening and identifying breast cancer through precision medicine technologies, including genetic testing, genome sequencing, cascade testing, and the return of secondary findings.

The synergistic effect of retinyl propionate and hydroxypinacolone retinoate on skin aging.

Aging is responsible for the majority of skin and soft tissue remolding in humans. Retinol and its derivatives or retinoids effectively intervene skin aging process. Nevertheless, retinoids usually induce skin intolerance, especially among the Chinese, and thus, their application to prevent skin aging is yet to be well accepted. The study of optimal composition and concentration of retinoids is necessary to offer strong antiaging efficacies with minimum irritations. Therefore, a better understanding of retinol and its derivatives is acutely needed to develop strategies to combat skin aging. In this study, we aimed to determine the optimal ratio of two retinol derivatives-hydroxypinacolone retinoate (HPR) and retinyl propionate (RP) in terms of dermal remodeling and skin aging prevention-and to investigate their synergistic antiaging effects both in vitro and in vivo. An in vitro human foreskin fibroblast (HFF-1) cell model was established to evaluate the cell viability of HPR and/or RP treatment. In addition, the antiaging and retinol receptor genes expressions in HFF-1 cells cotreated with HPR and RP were quantified. The in vivo adverse reaction evaluation of skincare serums containing various levels of retinol or the optimal HPR and RP combination termed Gravi-A was performed by 24 h patch tests in 33 subjects prior to the clinical research. Last but not the least, clinical research with 42 Chinese urban women was conducted to assess the in vivo antiaging efficacy of the skincare serum containing this optimal retinoid combination. The combination of HPR and RP at the weight ratio of 5:9 was shown to achieve the optimal in vitro antiaging performance. Coadministration of 5μg/mL HPR and 9μg/mL RP to HFF-1 cells promoted their proliferation at 24 h and synergistically enhanced the expressions of type IV collagen, CRBP-I, and RARB genes. In addition, the skincare serum containing HPR and RP combination at 5:9 weight ratio demonstrated superior in vivo anti-wrinkle and skin elasticity improvement benefits without any adverse reactions, while retinol in the same concentration exerted much higher adverse effect. Skin wrinkles, skin smoothness, TEWL, skin elasticity R2 and R5 were improved by 8.3%, 11.9%, 25.7%, 14.5%, and 22.6%, respectively, after 8-week use. Our results indicated the advanced antiaging effect of HPR and RP combination both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, little adverse effect was observed in this study, in comparison with retinol. This combination named as Gravi-A is a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent skin aging, especially for Chinese women.

Urban-rural differences in epidemiology and risk factors of menopause syndrome in middle-aged Chinese women.

To compare the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms and investigate their associated factors among rural and urban middle-aged Chinese women. A descriptive, cross-sectional study of 4,580 urban and 2,729 rural randomly sampled participants aged 40 to 55 years in Gansu Province, China, was conducted. Questionnaires assessing the sociodemographic information and menstrual and reproductive histories of the participants were administered. The modified Kupperman scale was used to assess the presence and severity of menopausal symptoms. Binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the occurrence and severity of menopausal syndrome, respectively, according to the modified Kupperman Menopausal Index score rank. The natural menopausal age of the rural women was significantly lower than that of the urban women (rural: 47.22, urban: 47.98; P < 0.05). Furthermore, rural women had a higher prevalence (rural: 56.35%, urban: 43.47%) and severity (rural: 11.40%, urban: 6.61%) of menopausal syndrome than the urban women ( P < 0.05). For both the urban and rural women, the prevalence and severity of most menopausal symptoms increased as menopause progressed. The three most prevalent symptoms in both the urban and rural women were fatigue (rural: 70.43%, urban: 68.19%), muscle/joint pain (rural: 62.84%, urban: 59.32%), and vertigo (rural: 57.42%, urban: 47.44%). Positive associations between menopausal symptoms and age, residence, body mass index, level of education, time of pregnancy, menstrual cycle, and presence of chronic diseases were observed. Rural women experience more frequent and severe menopausal syndrome than do urban women.

Dietary Diversity, Micronutrient Adequacy and Bone Status during Pregnancy: A Study in Urban China from 2019 to 2020.

Diet quality during reproduction is crucial to maternal and infant health. However, the association between dietary diversity and bone health of pregnant women remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the dietary quality of Chinese urban gravidas using the dietary diversity score (DDS), and to explore the relationship of the DDS with micronutrient adequacy and bone health. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from 775 pregnant women aged 18 years or older in urban China. Dietary diversity was assessed using the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) indicator. A 24-h dietary recall was used to collect diet data and to calculate the MDD-W and the nutrient intake. Bone health was measured using quantitative ultrasound and assessed by the speed of sound (SOS). Pearson's correlation coefficients between the DDS and the nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) were calculated. A multivariable linear regression model was used to estimate the effect size of the DDS on the SOS. The mean DDS was 6.61 ± 1.53 points and 91.0% of participants reported the consumption of five or more food groups. Women in the diverse diet subgroup (DDS ≥ 7 points) were more likely to consume all kinds of food except starchy staples and had higher NARs. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the DDS and the NAR ranged from 0.161 to 0.484. For participants in the second trimester, those with a diverse diet had a higher SOS. A multivariable linear regression analysis showed that the DDS was positively and significantly associated with the SOS (β = 17.18, 95% CI = 5.97-28.39, p = 0.003), but this was not the case for women in the first and third trimesters. Urban Chinese women had good dietary diversity during pregnancy. A higher dietary diversity was associated with a higher NAR. From the point of view of bone, a diverse diet was positively correlated with better bone status, suggesting the importance of improving diet diversity for pregnant women, especially from mid-pregnancy.

Gendering the second demographic transition: gender asymmetry, gendered tension, and cohabitation in contemporary urban China

The Second Demographic Transition (SDT) framework highlights individuals’ ideational shift toward greater individualism in explaining the rise of non-marriage unions. Contemporary China has seen a substantial increase in premarital cohabitation. Drawing on 65 in-depth interviews with highly educated young urban Chinese women and men, this article examines the gendered ways in which young Chinese adults perceive and make decisions about premarital cohabitation, as they envision their ideal lives and what autonomy and self-realization mean to them. I demonstrate that while male respondents predominantly view cohabitation positively as a risk-reduction strategy for avoiding incompatible marriages, female respondents still consider cohabitation to be a risk-amplification arrangement in practice that increases the possibility of uncertain marriage prospect, unsafe sex, and reputational damages. Young women, but not men, often have to strategize—through carefully managing information disclosure—about persistent parental expectations that discourage women’s premarital cohabitation. As a result, while male respondents regard marriage to be neither the necessary precondition nor the end goal of cohabitation, female respondents, who otherwise emphasize autonomy and individualistic fulfillment, continue to desire a close linkage between cohabitation and marriage. Leveraging the unique strength of qualitative data in demographic research, this article articulates the gender asymmetry in how women and men perceive cohabitation’s risks, benefits, and link to marriage. I elucidate the gendered tension between privately-held ideals of individualism vis-à-vis enduring social norms of female marriageability, as women and men differentially navigate parental expectations surrounding cohabitation. In so doing, this article makes a theoretical contribution by bringing a careful treatment of gender into the SDT framework.

How do Internet moms raise children? The reshaping of Chinese urban women's parenting psychology by COVID-19 online practices.

With the acceleration of social transformation and “mediatization,” urban women’s parenting practices have become an important factor affecting the demographic structure and national development. The global COVID-19 pandemic has further contributed to the networking of social life and the creation of “Internet moms” who rely on the Internet for parenting interactions. Using a mixed-methods design, this paper conducted participant observation and in-depth interviews with 90 mothers from various industries born after 1980/1990 across multiple geographies in China to examine the impact of urban women’s Internet practices on the psychology and practice of parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how they were empowered by media technologies to practice motherhood and complete their role socialization through the sharing of parenting information, experiences, and actions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the changing impact of Internet-based parenting practices on Chinese urban women’s daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the analysis of these influences, it was found that the whole society, including urban parenting groups, paid attention to self-expression and self-worth and further hoped to arouse society’s recognition, face up to the identity of “mother” and “female,” and give more attention and support to women. The study also found that, as interpersonal communication channels were hindered during the COVID-19 pandemic, the power of the Internet, represented by social media, has created a new platform for information empowerment, action mutual, and ideation of motherhood for urban women formerly bound to family and parenting matters. From individual, family, and individual parenting experiences to group, social, and shared scenarios, urban women are engaged in emotional and memory interactions, including motherhood-related expression, experiences, and collaboration. This shift from virtual to physical has reshaped their parenting view, helping them break through the confines of family experience and traditional customs in addition to providing psychological motivation to express their gender concepts, shape their self-image, construct gender power, and interpret intimate relationships, pushing them to become more reflective of the times, as well as more capable and authoritative.

Affective well-being of Chinese urban postpartum women: predictive effect of spousal support and maternal role adaptation.

Due to shortage of childcare facilities while high social expectations for mothering, becoming a mother is a big life challenge for most women in urban China. The understandings on Chinese postpartum women's affective well-being and its relation with spousal support and maternal role adaptation remain limited. This study aims to investigate the affective well-being (including both positive and negative affect) of Chinese urban postpartum women and how it is associated with spousal support and maternal role adaptation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shanghai, China, between June and July 2019. A total of 498 urban mothers whose babies were 0 to 1year old participated in this survey. They completed the Postpartum Social Support Questionnaire (PSSQ), the Maternal Role Adaptation Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and reported socio-demographic information. Results showed that positive and negative affect of postpartum women were not significantly associated with each other. Positive affect had a positive correlation with spousal support and maternal role adaptation. Negative affect was negatively associated with maternal role adaptation, while not significantly associated with spousal support. Maternal role adaptation partially mediated the relationship between spousal support and positive affect of the participants, controlling for age, household income, education, birth order, and inter-generational support. The findings indicate that intervention programs towards mental health of postpartum women should focus more on positive affect cultivation; moreover, clinical services should help postpartum women to adapt to maternal role by encouraging new fathers' or partners' involvement in daily childcare-giving.

Traditional postpartum customs in modern urban Chinese women and its association with dietary quality

Background & aimsTraditional Chinese customs practicing in postpartum yield mixed results on maternal health. The objectives of this study are 1) to depict the postpartum customs in Chinese lactating women in varied areas and 2) to explore its effects on dietary intake. MethodThis study is part of the “YI” study; data of 974 lactating women from ten cities of China were used. Food intake frequencies in the past month were assessed with the Food Frequency Questionnaire. The 24-h dietary recall was used to estimate nutrient intake and assess dietary diversity. Participants were also required to report in detail those traditional customs which they had practiced in postpartum, and word clouds were drawn according to the report frequencies of certain customs. ResultsIn total, 49.9% of women practiced certain traditional customs in postpartum. A total of 159 customs were recorded, including 130 dietary customs. The most frequently reported customs included “avoid eating cold food” (n = 164), “no spicy food” (n = 121) and “avoiding food influencing breast milk secretion” (n = 42). The dietary diversity was not associated with practicing postpartum customs; however, women with customs had significantly higher intake frequencies of potato and yam, seaweed, fruits, livestock meat and other dairy products, yet a lower intake frequency of dark green vegetables. For nutrient intake, women who practicing certain practices were observed to have a significantly higher intake of energy, protein, carbohydrate, niacin, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. ConclusionsTraditional postpartum customs are still common in Chinese women and associated with dietary intake.