Chinese primiparous women's experience of the traditional postnatal practice of "Doing the month": A descriptive method study.
Xujuan Zheng, Kim Watts, Jane Morrell
PMID 30259684WHAT IT FOUND
Most first-time Chinese mothers saw 'Doing the month' as necessary, but satisfaction was mixed: some valued support and rest, while others disliked taboos, mother-in-law conflict, and unmet expectations.
Key findings
01Most women (91.4%, 278/304) thought 'Doing the month' was necessary and followed it on their own initiative.
02Women rated satisfaction with 'Doing the month' a mean of 68.73 on a 0-100 scale; 23.0% scored below 50 and 47.4% scored above 70.
03Among women answering why, 38.2% disliked taboos, 22.0% reported mother-in-law conflict, 11.3% lacked family help, and 10.8% had undue expectations; satisfaction themes included support/rest (26.3%), achievement (11.3%), positive thinking (18 women), and appreciation (13 women).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in 2013 in three hospitals in one Chinese city, so it may not apply to other Chinese regions or later practice. It included only first-time mothers with healthy full-term infants and no severe illness, so it says little about complicated births or high-risk mothers. 112 of 416 women did not return the 6-week questionnaire, and 58 of those 112 gave no reason, so dissatisfied or busy women may be underrepresented. Only 186 of 304 women answered the open question, so the themes come from a subset of respondents. Satisfaction cut-points of 50 and 70 were based on how women used the open question, not on a pre-defined clinical threshold. The work is descriptive and self-reported; it cannot show that 'Doing the month' causes better or worse maternal health. The recommendations for nurse education are authors' suggestions, not tested outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 'necessary' ratings and satisfaction scores as proof that 'Doing the month' improves postnatal health. This was a survey of women's experiences, not a trial, and 23.0% scored below 50 while many reported taboos and family conflict.