I found this reflection by Louisa Lim, a correspondent of BBC, Beijing on how she endure the ‘sitting month’, i.e. the month after the delivery of her son. She is of mix-parentage and her exposure to the quirky practices of Chinese confinement is rather hilarious.

The things we have to go through……

New mums should stay indoors, eat purple porridge and avoid drinking iced water. Or should they? Scratch below the surface in modern China and you will find that old superstitions remain very much in force, as Louisa Lim has found out since having a baby.

The funny practice in protecting the little baby…………

my Chinese husband always called him the “stinky little pig”.

And my father-in-law would stare tenderly at the baby, but mutter things like “dog fart”.

Perplexed, I asked some Chinese friends what was going on.

“They’re trying to fool the evil spirits,” I was told. “They don’t want the evil spirits to kidnap Feng Yue, so they are pretending he’s just a stinky little pig or a dog fart.”

Continue reading how she dealt with her confinement nanny….

Moms-to-be : Be prepared for the infamous confinement practices. Enjoy it, grit your teeth, whatever.

Originally posted 2005-12-07 00:28:46.