Zuo Yuezi: An American Mother's Guide to Chinese Postpartum Recovery

As an independent American Born Chinese raised by a modern single mother, the sitting month came as a surprise to me. I heard of the sitting month but I never paid it any mind, that is until I became pregnant.My grandmother died in China when my mother was 16, so when my mother became pregnant in America, she had no one to guide her. 30 years later, my mother swears that her migraines and bone aches were the aftermath of not observing the sitting month. So, when I became pregnant, she insisted that I observe this cultural postpartum period. Only, we both were not versed in this tradition. This book became my bible. My mother, my "foreign" husband and I referred to this book as affirmation of what we've researched online (there were not too many websites in English) and heard through word of mouth.The only negative aspect about this book is the limited options for the vegan/vegetarian diet. My husband and I made adjustments as best as we could.

Amazingly concise read. I married into the Korean culture. Before I've learned tradition from my mother in law, I was hurting. I had no guidance and was expected to do it all on my own. Well, it was destroying my health. I thank God for my mother in law nourishing me with seaweed soup and helping me with everything. This book answers many questions that I've had, especially rules. Albeit, I love chocolate snd reading, I can abstain ir maybe substitute with audio books or Youtube videos. The author of this book feels like an understanding friend. I laughed and cried in oppsite order because of the shared stories in their beautiful honesty. Thank God that you took time to write this, especially for a newbie Caucasian diving in to Asian culture. I am grateful to you for thinking and then doing this work. I appreciate it greatly.

I'm glad I came across this book, as I'm a (Caucasian) American married to a Chinese man. I am about to give birth in China. Both my husband and his mom encourage me to zuo yuezi, which I agreed to after becoming pregnant. It sounded like it could be beneficial if I just opened my mind to it. I want to give it my best shot, so I thought I should gain a better knowledge of the practice before the baby actually arrives.This book was really helpful, as it shows a pretty balanced perspective on blending American habits and attitudes with this ancient Chinese tradition. I especially like the alternative recommendations for recipes and foods. I think this might be one of my biggest concerns as I don't know that I'll be up for eating pigs feet and kidneys. I also appreciate the exercise suggestions and accompanying explanations plus illustrations.There are a few things I didn't like about this book. I wanted more info. I read all of it, short of the recipes, in about 20 minutes. I would have enjoyed hearing more about the author's experiences and maybe some historical or scientific references. My other issue was that many words had hyphens in the middle of them for no particular reason. I don't know if something went wrong with the formatting when this book got converted into a digital edition, but this should really be edited. It is somewhat distracting.Overall, I'm glad I bought this book and will be referencing it again once the baby arrives. On second thought, maybe it's a good thing that it's so short, as I shouldn't spend to much time (re)reading while I zuo yuezi.

Very short book. It was written in a conversational way. I love the topic of the postpartum recovery from a Chinese standpoint and appreciate that she added details of her own mother's struggle with postpartum psychosis, however, I would recommend looking into the book "The First Forty Days" instead, which goes more into detail of all the topics in this book.

This book will be kept as a reference for a long time to come! As a doula, and mother, I greatly appreciate the knowledge and centuries of wisdom provided in these pages!

A really simple, comprehensive and straightforward guide to the one month chinese tradition after labor. Enjoyed the explanations to the commandments. Like the idea of recipes esp the AMA version of ingredients was helpful.

Recommended, the author is refreshing, I enjoyed her personal story, I appreciate her humility, and I will be considering the good and bad food lists for postpartum care.

Wonderful book