W
hen Kate, the Duchess
of Windsor, gave birth
and only hours later
proudly presented her
daughter to the photographers, looking
as stunning and glamorous as ever, she
set off an avalanche of comments in
China. While Western mums mainly
discussed how unrealistically polished
and perfect she looked, Chinese
mothers concentrated on the fact
that she had already stepped outside
to make a public appearance. “How
could she? What’s wrong with her?”
ranted and raved the mother bloggers
from Beijing to Shanghai.
For in China, mums of newborns
traditionally opt for strict enclosure
for four weeks. “Sitting the month” or
“zue yue zi” is sacrosanct. According
to popular belief, the dramatic
physical strain and loss of blood
during birth weaken a woman’s
health. So in order to restore it, she
must stay indoors.
The tradition started 2,000 years
ago, and Chinese ladies all over the
world deeply believe in it and fear
that by ignoring it, they will contract
many diseases later in life, such as
rheumatism or arthritis.
The month is long and tough, and
full of rules: Ideally, a new mother
shouldn’t wash her hair, shower,
brush her teeth, exercise, use the air
conditioning, lift any heavy weights,
and she should avoid cold as well as
negative emotions. And to be 100
per cent sure that she doesn’t make
any mistakes in that labyrinth of
instructions, her mum or a special
“confinement lady” moves in, looks
after her and the baby, and cooks
dietary meals with lots of ginger.
In a post on the Hong Kong Moms
Facebook group, one mum wrote:
“I didn’t think I’d survive it, but
to be honest if I survived a natural
childbirth without an epidural, I think
I can survive anything!”
Sitting in style
But for Chinese families for whom
money is no object, there are more
pleasant ways to do it nowadays – at
least in Taiwan and on the mainland,
where more and more rich ladies
prefer spending their month in a
specialised clinic, with five-star
comfort. Care Bay is the most famous
of around 100 postpartum clinics in
Shanghai, where old trees stand in
front of the house, the atmosphere
inside is dignified and the light is
dimmed. The centre of the lobby is
dominated by a neo-classical marble
statue of a mother with her baby.
A young student with her daughter
is posing here. She is done, it’s her
last day today, her bags are packed,
she just wants to have a souvenir
picture taken. Asked how she found
the month, she replies, “It was great,
absolutely great”. She didn’t miss
anything and was even allowed to go
out for a tea with a friend!
And this modern approach
to sitting the month seems to be
successful. Care Bay has four houses
in China – two in Shanghai, one in
Shenzhen, and one in Beijing – where
famous actresses are said to have spent
around HK$1,000,000 for a month
in the presidential suite. Compared
to that, Shanghai is quite reasonably
priced: prices per month range from
HK$80,000-HK$380,000, which
includes a stay in a spacious room
or suite, dietary full-board plus a
personal confinement lady, called a
yue sao.
For many young mums, the yue
sao is the best part of the package.
Upon request, the yue sao can be
present during birth, and will be
there for her all the time. Over four
weeks, she will take care of her,
providing instruction in childcare and
careful yoga lessons.
A family affair
The escorting husbands are charged
extra – guys like Mr Wong. He works
as a freelance trader and didn’t
hesitate for a second when he heard he
could be there to make his wife’s stay
more pleasant. Now he is sitting in
camouflage shorts, working at the desk
of his wife’s suite. Ms Wong is visibly
weak after her c-section, but she is
happy with the arrangement and is
especially proud of her son, Sun, who
has a baby swimming lesson every
day. He is only 15 days old, but has
February 2016
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