Does confinement work? What the research says
An honest look at what research says about zuo yue zi: where the evidence supports the tradition, where it is thin, and what seems to do the real work.
Guides
Understanding confinement
Start here. These guides explain what Chinese confinement is, where the tradition comes from and how it varies across China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and beyond.
An introduction to Chinese confinement (zuo yue zi)
Zuo yue zi, the Chinese confinement month, in depth: the 30 day structure, the TCM reasoning, foods week by week, and what the evidence supports.
Read the introduction
What is a confinement nanny (pui yuet)?
The pui yuet or yue sao is the specialist at the centre of the confinement month. What the role is, where it came from, and what she actually does day to day.
Confinement compared: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and beyond
Confinement is not one practice. How the month differs across northern and southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, and what stays constant.
The history of zuo yue zi: where confinement comes from
Confinement is older than the thirty day rule suggests. Where zuo yue zi came from, how long it once lasted, and how it survived migration and modernity.
Qi, blood, cold and wind: the TCM ideas behind confinement
Almost every confinement rule follows from a handful of TCM concepts. What qi, blood, cold, wind and damp mean, and how each rule descends from them.
What happens to your body in the first 30 days after birth
A week by week account of postpartum recovery: lochia, the uterus, milk, hormones and healing, and the warning signs worth knowing at each stage.
What is yue zi bing, the confinement illness?
Yue zi bing is the lasting illness a poorly kept confinement month is said to cause. What it describes, why it drives the rules, and how to think about it.
Confinement foods for milk supply
The traditional lactation foods of the confinement month, from green papaya and fish soup to pork trotters, and what actually drives milk supply.
A 30-day confinement meal plan
What to eat across the confinement month, stage by stage: gentle food for the first ten days, rebuilding dishes next, the richest tonics at the end.
A day in the life of confinement
Confinement is less a set of rules than a daily rhythm. Here is what an ordinary day of the month actually looks like, from the night feeds to lights out.
The emotional side of confinement no one prepares you for
The postpartum weeks are an emotional adjustment as much as a physical one. What confinement gets right about the mind, and when to reach for help.
9 ways partners and family can help during confinement
Confinement only works when the household does, not the new mother. Nine concrete jobs partners and family can take on so she can rest and heal.
What people get wrong about confinement
Confinement is often dismissed as superstition or misread as oppressive. The common misconceptions, and what the tradition is actually doing underneath them.
What to bring a new mum in confinement
Everyone brings something for the baby. Here is what actually helps the mother through her confinement month, from warm food to the gift of a short visit.
Confinement rules explained: 8 customs and their reasons
The main rules of Chinese confinement, and the thinking behind each one. What every custom is actually protecting against, and how families adapt it today.
10 things no one tells you about the confinement month
Ten things about the Chinese postpartum month that surprise most first time families, and the thinking behind each one.