Adherence to cultural practices following childbirth in migrant Chinese women and relation to postpartum mood.

Chinese women (N = 102) who had migrated to Sydney, Australia, were interviewed about traditional cultural practices they had followed in the first six weeks of the postpartum period. The majority (90.2%) of these women had adhered to some form of practice, with the most frequent being eating warm ('yang') food (78%), following confinement for one month (55%), and using warm water for washing themselves (19%). Of note was that 18% of these women felt ambivalent about following such practices, with the impression being that the adoption of such practices was more a result of family or in-law expectations than the wishes of the woman. Of the 9.8% who did not follow any form of traditional Chinese postpartum practice, only half felt ambivalent or negative about not doing so. There was no relationship between the women's mood at six weeks postpartum and how she felt about following or not following such practices. The adherence to traditional cultural practices was not related to length of time in Australia, nor to whether the woman was residing with her parents or in-laws. There was some indication that more educated women were less likely to follow cultural practices following the birth.