Negotiating "Doing the month": an ethnographic study examining the postnatal practices of two generations of Chinese women

In Chinese society, the specific set of postnatal practices called "doing the month" constitutes an integrated set of postnatal behaviors that provides cultural and maternal protection and identity. This study examines the cultural practice of "doing the month" by Chinese mothers for two generations of matrilineal datasets. Ethnographic interviews were undertaken with new mothers and their mother and/or mother-in-law. Then, the coded data were compared within matrilineal dyads, as well as within age cohorts. The new mothers highlighted a range of attitudinal and behavioral practices that was informed and enforced by the female family members. They found highly individualized ways of negotiating traditional practices. In contrast, their mothers and mothers-in-law testified to a custom-bound approach. Support from family members appeared to be instrumental and was underscored by traditional notions of filial duty in the older generation of mothers. In comparison, their daughters and daughters-in-law indicated more autonomously directed behaviors. Recommendations are made in order to provide healthcare professionals with a more-informed understanding of Chinese postnatal belief systems.