| Bathing after giving birth | |
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| May 12, 2008 08:40 |   |
 | I just gave birth... should I be allowed to take a shower? Seriously, my Chinese friend mentioned that women who just gave birth should not leave the house or take showers for a month. I believe a lot of other Asian cultures practice this. Is this still being done? What bad things can happen if you break it? |
| May 13, 2008 21:20 | #1 |
| You can take a shower the same day you give birth if you want to. Baths in a tub can perhaps be dangerous because of bacteria on the tub surface that can cause infection, but showering is fine. My daughter gave birth two weeks ago and she has showered every day since she came home from the hospital with no ill effects. Also, she has left the house and gone to the store, to friends' homes, to our home, and to a restaurant without any problams. You will be fine. Stay clean and enjoy yourself! |
| May 14, 2008 00:22 | #2 |
| I have also heard do this rather strange behaviour or superstition/myth. But there is nothing to support this imposition on a new mother and her personal hygiene. Go ahead and have a shower and wash your hair. Have a bath only when you feel comfortable as suggested there may be a little risk of infection but certainly less than if you didn't bath for a whole month after giving birth. |
| May 14, 2008 05:05 | #3 |
| This seems to be an "old wives tale" that I've actually seen practiced here in China. I think it happens more outside the major cities in the countryside. They refrain from bathing for an entire month as well as eating only porridge - the first of which makes their house stink just a bit and the second doesn't seem very healthy for a nursing child. My wife made the observation to me, just as Jabarootoo has said, that it seems to have no visible positive affects on the mother and there is no scientific backing to this myth. One thing's for sure - I hope my wife takes a shower. |
| May 19, 2008 12:12 | #4 |
| If you consider the times when the "medical directive" was probably formulated, it was probably very good advice. Today, it probably deserves the "old wives tale" moniker. |
| May 20, 2008 10:59 | #5 |
| <<<If you consider the times when the "medical directive" was probably formulated, it was probably very good advice.>>> I can imagine--outdoor bathing areas, no hot water on tap, etc... |
| May 20, 2008 20:42 | #6 |
| Whether it was good advice at the time it was formulated or not, many people I know here live by it as if it were a police-enforced law. They also didn't watch TV or talk on a cell phone for their entire pregnancy for fear of the radiation. |
| May 20, 2008 22:53 | #7 |
| It is true that Chinese women usually don't bath in the first month after giving birth. It might be reasonable. Women's physical conditions are very vunerable immediately after they give birth to a baby. The immune system is fragile. |
| May 21, 2008 04:16 | #8 |
| Chinese women did not bath after giving birth - this means they did not cleaned hygienically. Bath and medical cleaning not the same. Some country side have some superstitions-- that is different. |
| Sep 28, 2009 13:14 | #9 |
| GUEST92189 | Yes, not going out or not bathing is good Idea if you live where the water is contaminated; which was the case almost everywhere 100 years ago. People forget that a lot of disease and infection was practically eliminated with modern hygiene. |
| Oct 25, 2009 07:37 | #10 |
| GUEST56464 |  THIS IS 2009 AND MY SISTER IN LAW IS CHINESE AND HAD C SECTION AND REFUSED TO BATHE FOR 30 DAYS AFTER HER BABY. I AM A NURSE AND EVEN CALLED THE MD AND HAD NURSE TELL HER THAT SHE COULD SHOWER AND SHE REFUSED TO TAKE A SHOWER. BY THE GRACE OF GOD, SHE IS FINE , NO INFECTION. ALSO SHE DOES NOT GO UP OR DOWN STAIRS, MY BROTHER IS BRINGINGHER FOOD BUT SHE HAS LOST 20 LBS AS SHE IS BREAST FEEDING. |
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