Princess Kate’s Postnatal Appearance Triggers Chinese Netizen’s Health Reflection

Beijing (PNA/Xinhua) — Photographs of Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, leaving hospital just hours after giving birth to a girl on Saturday, sparked debate online in China about “yuezi”, the 30-day postpartum rest period.

The tradition of yuezi dates back as far as the Western Han Dynasty (B.C. 202-A.D.9). Following labor, many women are house bound, deprived of cold food and drinks, and even forgo hot showers for a whole month in a bid to regain physical and mental equilibrium.

Chinese women are told if they do not undergo yuezi they will suffer from health problems in later life.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Chinese netizens were taken aback by Kate’s public appearance for the cameras, posing babe-in-arms — and in high-heels nonetheless — just 10 hours after her delivery.

This very public display of such a high-profile woman, just mere hours after labor, resulted in people reflecting on the place yuezi has in modern society.

One user on China’s twitter-like microblog, weibo.com, “maoyanzhu”, said that Kate’s doctor must have approved her public appearance, which showed it was perfectly okay not to practice “yuezi”.

Another user, “rongxiangxiang”, said: “I hated [yuezi], because I was confined to bed, denied TV, my cellphone and couldn’t even brush my teeth.”

Others argued that the tradition was not only an important part of Chinese culture but highlighted the physical differences between Chinese and Caucasian.

Another weibo user, “Mengmengda”, said that as the tradition was passed on from generation to generation, it must make sense, adding that the eastern mindset of respecting traditions and the older generation had meant that the tradition had not been forgotten.

Regardless of the arguments, it is hard not to agree, on some level, with the obvious benefit of a period of postpartum rest to new mothers.

Weibo user “Liyun” said she wholeheartedly believed in “yuezi” as it helped Chinese women to recover.

“Due to different diet and geographical environments, we cannot look to other countries for maternity health norms,” she added. (PNA/Xinhua) JBP/SSC