As we all know, only people from several eastern countries can have a confinement. Why? Is it all right not to have a confinement? How can people in Europe and the United States not take confinement?
I think it is necessary for us to have a confinement, not only for 30 days, but also for 42 days after delivery. Because it takes 42 days (6 weeks) from the placental delivery to the recovery of the whole body organs (except the breast) or close to the non pregnancy state. In medicine, this stage is called puerperium. The first thing after delivery is vulva edema, of course, this recovery is fast, 2 to 3 days can subside. Next, the vagina will be restored. It will gradually shrink, and the muscle tension will slowly recover. Mucosal folds will reappear 3 weeks after delivery. Of course, the most important thing is the recovery of the uterus, which is called uterine involution. It takes six weeks to recover to the size before pregnancy, and self repair to regenerate the endometrium.
At the same time, the puerpera suffered a lot of bleeding during childbirth, and sweating, backache, and abdominal pain were very debilitating, so the blood, muscles, and bones were very weak after childbirth. At this time, the puerpera were vulnerable to the attack of wind chill, and needed some time to adjust. The purpose of confinement is to allow the puerpera to take proper rest and exercise during this period, and to carry out proper food tonic and food therapy, so that their blood can also recover, even better than before.
Confinement is the best time for a woman to improve her physique in her life. In the process of pregnancy and childbirth, the balance of our women's body functions and internal organs functions has been broken, and at the same time, the body is automatically constantly looking for new balance points. Therefore, the lunar month can be said to be the best period for women to recuperate their physique. If a woman sits well during the month and lets her body find a new and higher balance point, she may be healthier and more beautiful than before pregnancy. The key to postpartum recovery is to properly guide and scientifically manage the whole process of postpartum recovery. Therefore, the puerpera should have a confinement, but we should not be superstitious about the so-called "tradition". I know many places have a lot of rules and regulations for taking the month. For example, some people say that they can only eat millet porridge and eggs during the month.
I once saw such an example when I was in Toronto. The living conditions of the mother's home are particularly good. She lives in a big house with three parking spaces. Originally, the mother of the puerpera had to go to take care of her baby, but the visa did not come down, so her mother remote control in China. What should mothers eat every day? Only let her eat millet porridge and boiled eggs, and never let her eat anything else. The woman was so tortured that she found me and asked me what I could eat or not.
The woman was very tall. She ate seven or eight boiled eggs and drank several millet porridge every day. She complained to me: "Aunt Yang, I feel sick now when I hear the words' millet 'and' egg '." I told her: "I can eat anything, including chicken, duck, fish, meat, fruits and vegetables."
In the past, my family was poor, and eggs were a good thing, so the best thing for pregnant women was eggs. But now the conditions are good, why not give the puerpera more nutritious food? Besides, we can only digest and absorb the nutrition of two eggs a day, and we can't digest it even if we eat so much. There is no nutrition, and the mother has just given birth to a child that consumes so much physical strength, how to recover and how to nurse?
We said that we should not eat raw and cold food during the month, but we did not mean that we would not be allowed to eat vegetables and fruits. For example, apples and bananas can be eaten during the month. Heat a bowl of milk, slice the apple at room temperature and put it in the milk, so it won't be cold. Bananas can also be eaten like this.
I also met with a family that did not allow pregnant women to eat salt during the month. This family lives in the same courtyard with us. They are my husband's relatives. His son is about the same age as my son. When he gave birth to his son, I gave them monthly guidance. Their little grandson was also born last year. At that time, the daughter-in-law was sitting at her mother's house for the first month, so her mother wouldn't give her salt. When I arrived at my mother-in-law's house, I also told him not to eat salt. The mother-in-law said to me, "My in laws don't allow my daughter-in-law to eat salt, and they don't allow me to put salt in any soup. I feel distressed when I look at my daughter-in-law." I told her that she must add salt, and salt should be eaten during the month, but not much. Why? We all know that the human body cannot lack salt, and the body will be powerless without salt. And puerpera are prone to sweating after delivery, and a lot of sodium will be lost if they sweat more. Her daughter-in-law sweats more. If we don't give her salt, she will feel weak and fall ill.
In the past, when we were in confinement, we never heard that we would not allow a grain of salt. Of course, too much salt is not good. Everyone's diet should not be too salty, because salty food is easy to cause hypertension, but not without salt at all! Overcorrection is no good.
In addition, there are all kinds of "traditions": during the month, you should cover yourself, not go out, not go to the ground, not open the window, not see the sun, not touch water, not brush your teeth, not bathe, not wash your hair, not use a hair dryer, not eat vegetables, not eat fruit, not hold treasure, not bathe your baby, not watch TV, not use a computer, not use a mobile phone, Can't read books, can't do needlework... Imagine that this confinement makes the puerpera become a "waster" lying in bed 24 hours a day?!
The physiological state of the puerpera is indeed different from that of ordinary people, and has certain particularity. But for the puerpera, we only need to master some major principles.
First, beware of coldness: the indoor temperature should be kept at 24 ℃~26 ℃, and the humidity should be kept at 50%~60%. Wear long sleeves, trousers, socks, and shoes wrapped around the heels to avoid catching cold, catching cold, and joints from the invasion of wind, cold, and humidity, but do not "cover" them. In the past, our hospital often had pregnant women in suburban counties who were pulled to the emergency room in summer, which meant they suffered heatstroke.
Second, be comfortable with work and leisure: at the beginning of postpartum, when the puerpera feel weak, dizzy and tired, they can stay in bed more, but they must get up, but the time should not be too long, not more than half an hour. When the physical strength gradually recovers, the time can be slightly extended, which can be maintained for 1-2 hours. Do not stand or sit for a long time, which may lead to low back pain, back pain, leg pain, knee and ankle pain. Proper activities of the lying in women, often walking on the ground, can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, promote the discharge of exhaust, defecation and lochia. More importantly, the puerpera are in a hypercoagulable state after delivery, and must not lie still in bed, otherwise it may lead to lower limb deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
Third, re cleaning: hair and body should be washed frequently to keep clean and avoid inflammation due to bacterial infection. Some places say that boiled water must be used to brush teeth, wash hair and take a bath during the month, and mothers are not allowed to take a bath with water heater, which is bad for their health. Actually, it is unnecessary. During the month, the puerpera sweated a lot. As long as the wound healed, she could take a shower. There is no need to use boiled water, just water from the water heater. As for brushing teeth, you can use warm water to soak the toothbrush soft, just like ordinary people, once every morning and once every night.
Fourth, diet adjustment: the diet for confinement is mainly warm and tonic, and do not eat cold fruits and vegetables, and do not eat spicy food. Some people heard that they could not eat cold food after childbirth, so they even cooked the fruit before allowing the puerpera to eat it. This is also inappropriate. The puerpera have weak spleen and stomach, and can't eat cold food, so they can't take fruit out of the refrigerator directly. They should put it aside and eat it at room temperature. There are many water-soluble vitamins in fruits, which will be lost after boiling.
As for mobile phones and computers, as long as they are well controlled, they can be played within half an hour each time and can use their eyes scientifically. In a word, don't put yourself into the "dead rules" of confinement, just pay attention to rest and nutrition, eat, drink, sleep, and activities.
Tips for confinement
In the process of pregnancy and childbirth, the balance of our women's body functions and internal organs functions has been broken, and at the same time, the body is automatically constantly looking for new balance points. Therefore, the lunar month can be said to be the best period for women to recuperate their physique.
——This article is excerpted from the book "How Yuezi Does It, Mum Is Super Carefree" authorized by Beijing Times Feilu Culture Communication Co., Ltd
