Chinese has attached great importance to confinement since ancient times, saying that sitting well can improve physical fitness and allow women to be "reborn"; but if the confinement is not sitting well, it will leave hidden diseases on the future body. Chinese pay attention to confinement, which has been based on Traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, and is not superstition.
In the "confinement culture" of Han women, the most well-known is a variety of "taboos".
Among the physicians of the past generations, the Southern Song Dynasty physician Chen Ziming listed a long list of maternal taboos in "Women's Recipe", which still seems to be very scientific and instructive today, more than a thousand years later:
"If you are not yet a month old, it is not advisable to speak much, laugh, fright, worry, cry, think, be angry, forced to move away from bed, sit for a long time, or make needlework, work hard, eat raw and cold, sticky fruit and vegetables, fat fish and meat, and do not take shelter from the wind and cold, strip and bathe, or wash in cold water." Although I did not feel a major loss at that time, after the full moon, it became a curse. The hands, feet, waist and legs are sore and cold, and the bone marrow flutters like a cold wind, and even a famous doctor cannot treat it. ”
Now many young generations think that confinement is outdated, think that the older generation of that set is not scientific, saying that Westerners do not sit in confinement, look at the British Princess Kate, after giving birth to a child for two days to rest can go out, we Chinese there is no need to confinement, think that confinement is the dross of traditional Chinese culture. Is this really the case?
Why do Chinese women confinement?
Westerners love to eat beef and mutton fried cheese and other Chinese medicine believes that sex is a warm food, the so-called "fish phlegm, meat fire", so Westerners generally have a hot physique, and generally love sports.
Oriental people are combined with vegetarian or vegetarian-based, most Oriental women like to be quiet and do not like to move, so Oriental women are more slender than Western women, less body hair, lighter body odor, and more people with weak physique.
Our physique is different from that of Westerners, one side of the water and soil to raise one person, the Asian diet structure is very different from the Westerners, so not only us in China, in other countries in Asia women also have to sit in confinement after giving birth.
Since ancient times, the mainland has been dominated by fibrous foods such as grains and vegetables, the diet is relatively light, and the physique of the Chinese is greater than the strength of the astringent hair, so our skin is tight and delicate, the pores are small, the body hair is also small, and the bone joints are particularly fine.
Western countries are mainly meat food, from the Chinese medicine physique theory, their fiery wetness is very heavy, so their body hair is heavy, pores are very large, easy to disperse the turbidity in the body, which is the opposite of the Orientals.
Westerners have thick bones, and their bodies drive away the cold, so they are not too afraid of cold and evil, so they have not formed a tradition of confinement. But just because Westerners don't confinement doesn't mean they won't fall into confinement.
A foreign friend complained that his Chinese wife was having a real trouble in confinement after giving birth, saying that Westerners never sit. But he also admits that many women in the West get joint diseases when they get older.
Therefore, it is not that confinement is useless, nor that Westerners are fine without confinement, but that most Western medicine is right for the disease, and they often treat pain after a woman has a pain, without associating these joint diseases with having children decades ago.
Before the baby is born, the nutrition needed by the fetus is obtained from the mother, which will cause some adaptation changes in the mother's various organs. Uterine muscle cells maturation, proliferation, and lengthening, the burden on the heart increases, the lungs also bear a heavier burden than before pregnancy, the kidneys of pregnant women are slightly enlarged, the ureters are thickened, muscle tone is reduced, and peristalsis is weakened.
It is not until after the baby is born that the maternal organs return to their normal state. The uterus shrinks, enlarged organs recover, loose skin returns to firmness, joints and ligaments return to normal, and wounds in the uterus, perineum, and vagina heal. However, whether all this is restored quickly, whether it is good or not, whether it can be restored to the best state, depends on whether the maintenance inside the confinement is good or not.
If the confinement is properly maintained, it will recover quickly, restore a healthy body, and even the physique will be better than before; but if the maintenance is inappropriate, the recovery is slower, and the diseases such as puerperal infection, mastitis, uterine prolapse, adnexitis and so on can occur during this period of time, and even get confinement disease, affecting the life of the second half of life.
Chinese medicine says: Why do you have to confinement after childbirth?
The purpose of confinement is to make moderate exercise and recuperation, proper diet and diet therapy during this period, so that the uterus can return to the state before pregnancy, and the qi and blood can be restored after conditioning, even better than before, and the bad physique will be slowly changed during this time, so that women can be reborn.
Chinese medicine believes that under normal circumstances, the bone joints of the Chinese are closed, and after childbirth, with the opening of the pelvis, the muscles and bones of the mother's whole body are in a state of opening and relaxing. At this time, the wind chill is easy to take advantage of the void and enter the human body through the open bone joints. At the end of the confinement, the mother's pelvis and the bones and bones of the whole body will gradually return to a normal closed state. Then, the cold evil that enters the body during confinement will also be locked in the body, leaving serious troubles from then on.
Weak mothers may feel back pain shortly after the end of confinement; while most women will feel general pain, especially bone joint pain, when they are older; and even some people will be in pain for a lifetime. In Chinese medicine, this disease is called "postpartum wind", that is, confinement disease.
There is a saying in Chinese medicine, "Confinement disease, confinement cure". This means that the confinement disease that fell during the last confinement can only be treated until the next confinement. Because only by the next confinement, the bone joints of the human body can be opened again to achieve a state of natural loosening. Take advantage of this opportunity to apply a medicinal stone to drive out the cold evil and cure the disease.
Chinese medicine: the basic principle of confinement
Beware of wind chills
As mentioned earlier, confinement disease is caused by the weakness of the body, insufficient qi and blood during confinement, and the invasion of wind, cold and moisture into the human body through open pores and bone joints. Therefore, the environment in which the mother lives should maintain a temperature of about 25 to 26 ° C, a humidity of about 50% to 60%, wear long sleeves, long pants, socks, do not touch cold things, avoid cold, cold, or make joints subject to wind, cold, wet invasion.
Suitable for work
Moderate exercise and rest are very helpful for the discharge of lochia and the recovery of muscles and bones. When the newly born mother feels weak, dizzy, and weak, she should lie in bed more, get up for no more than half an hour, wait until the second day of normal delivery, caesarean section to the third day, you can walk properly down the road, but each time should not exceed an hour, and then you can slowly increase the time, so that you can avoid lying down for a long time or standing for a long time, resulting in waist pain, back pain, leg pain, knee and ankle joint pain.
Clean frequently
In the past, due to the simple conditions, the older generation of confinement could not bathe and could not wash their hair, but now it is different, and the hair and body must be washed frequently to avoid suffering from bacterial infection and inflammation. Wash your hair, take a bath with warm water of about 40 ° C, dry your hair with a dry towel after washing your hair, and use a hair dryer to dry your hair scalp.
Adjust the diet
Everyone mentioned above should abide by it, there is nothing different, but the diet should be appropriately adjusted according to the maternal constitution; there are also postpartum lochia fast and slow, milk is more or less, etc., and the things to eat are different. Confinement diet is still based on warm supplements, it is best to adjust according to personal physique is more appropriate.
Having children is actually a more important thing in a woman's life, and it is also a barrier for women. Mothers hope that they can successfully give birth to their children, and their children are healthy and healthy. After giving birth, women have to eat a lot of nutritious foods to condition their bodies, and chicken soup is one of them. So, how long does it take to drink chicken soup after giving birth?
1. Generally speaking, if the mother has just given birth, it is best not to drink chicken soup during the first week. Because women are relatively weak after giving birth, gastrointestinal function has not been fully restored, and in the process of childbirth, women lose a lot of water, the first day after childbirth is best to eat some liquid foods, such as brown sugar water, red date soup and so on. The next day you can eat porridge and tender egg soup. Chicken soup should not be drunk prematurely.
2. After a woman gives birth to a child, the estrogen will decline, and the prolactin will play a role at this time, which can promote milk secretion. However, chicken soup, especially old hens, contains high estrogen, if you drink chicken soup too early, too much, it will increase estrogen, which will affect prolactin, and eventually affect the secretion of milk. Therefore, for the question of how long you can drink chicken soup after childbirth, it is better to drink it after one week.
Pregnant women should pay attention to the combination of nutrition, chicken soup is very good, nutritional value is also very high, but can not eat soup and do not eat meat. Other foods should also eat more, can not be partial to food, otherwise nutrition is difficult to make up for, in the month there is no conditioning back to the body, after the body is more difficult to adjust.
Chinese medicine says: Different constitutions of maternal diet are different
According to the cold and hot physique attributes of women, the confinement diet should pay attention to the following taboos:
Cold constitution
Characteristics: pale face, cold or cold limbs, light mouth is not thirsty, stool is soft, frequent urination, urine volume, light color, phlegm saliva, slurry, white tongue, easy to catch a cold.
Suitable for eating: warm supplements of food or medicine can promote blood circulation, qi and blood double supplements, such as lychee, longan, apple, strawberry, cherry, grape;
Taboo: cold vegetables and fruits, such as watermelon, papaya, grapefruit, grapefruit, pear, star fruit, orange, tomato, melon, cantaloupe and so on.
Hot physique
Characteristics: red face, fear of heat, dry mouth or bitter mouth, dry stool or constipation, easy to break the mouth, skin is prone to acne or hemorrhoids and other symptoms. Suitable for eating: yam chicken, black glutinous rice, fish soup, rib soup, etc., vegetables can choose loofah, winter melon, lotus root, eat green vegetables and tofu soup to reduce the fire.
Taboo: Lychee, longan.
Neutral physique
Characteristics: no heat, no cold, no special dry mouth, no special frequent diseases.
Food: It is easier to choose from the diet. If there is too much to eat dry mouth, bitter mouth or acne, stop the medicine, eat some of the above-mentioned vegetables that are more fire-reducing, and drink a small cup of pure willow juice or pure grape juice that is not ice.
To summarize the confinement 9 forbidden:
1: Confinement should not be stuffy, maternal sweat, and change loose and comfortable clothes frequently.
2: Avoid eating MSG, in order for the baby not to appear zinc deficiency, the new mother should avoid eating MSG, otherwise there is a chance to cause mental retardation, growth retardation and other adverse consequences.
3: As long as you wash your hair during confinement, you must blow dry immediately after bathing to pay attention to keep warm, moderate cleaning is good for both parents and children, keep your mind happy, but cold water should not be touched as much as possible.
4: Avoid going out to blow the wind, the postpartum pulse is empty, and it is easy to sweat, once the wind and evil enter the body, in addition to being prone to colds, it may also lead to the pain of wandering limbs and joints in the future.
5: Avoid crying and fatigue, postpartum crying wound sperm blood, may cause eye damage, as much rest as possible, do not climb stairs, do not overwork. Avoid watching mobile phones, televisions, and computers for a long time. Do not look at the mobile phone or computer during the first week of confinement, which will affect vision and damage the retina.
6: Avoid sexual behavior, usually after 6-8 weeks after childbirth is more suitable for the time to resume sexual behavior, and the confinement period is the time for the mother's body to recover, naturally it is not appropriate to have sex.
7: Avoid long-term lying still, lying in bed for a long time is not conducive to the recovery of abdominal muscle contractility, and the discharge of postpartum lochia.
8: Avoid eating a lot of eggs every day, two to three is appropriate, eat too much nutrient absorption can not be absorbed, but also cause digestive problems.
9: Avoid not paying attention to abdominal plastic surgery after childbirth. After the baby is born, the uterus vacates the internal organs and loses its support, and it will naturally sag. Visceral sagging is the root cause of disease and pre-aging in all women. On the third day after childbirth, you can wear a tunic, but it should not be too tight, you can close the stomach, protect the waist, promote the removal of lochia, etc.
Confinement three stages: one row of two adjustments and three supplements
In the first week, the main thing is to excrete excess water and toxins and lochia from the body. You can drink biochemical soup every day and eat sesame oil to fry pork liver.
In the second week, the main enhancement of bone and waist kidney function, the restoration of the pelvis.
In the third week, by one month, at this time, the row has been exhausted, mainly eating sesame oil chicken to recover the body.
In terms of diet, pay attention to:
1: Eat less and eat more.
2: Eat low-salt foods and avoid cold and cold foods.
3: Eat a small amount of vegetables and fruits in the first half month after childbirth, green vegetables can be added ginger, fruits can be warmed and eaten. If your baby has neonatal jaundice, do not eat orange-red foods such as carrots and pumpkins.
The Guangdong Folk Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Association wishes all new mothers and babies health and happiness!
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