Normally during this month, only immediate family visit the mother and her baby, and most extended family and friends wait until after the month to visit the newborn.“I know, in some places, new parents have a large celebration at the end of this month and invite all their family and friends out to a restaurant. We wanted to do this, but Beijing is so expensive—we couldn't afford it,”said one mother.
Mrs Zhang's experience during yue zi is fairly common among Chinese mothers. They all felt their bodies were very weak after childbirth, and they felt if they didn't look after their health during the crucial month，they would suffer the consequences later in life, or get yue zi bing, which literally means “an illness caused by not resting sufficiently during the month after childbirth"."My mother is in poor health now, and she is sure it is because she did not take proper care of herself after her second pregnancy,” says Holly Chen, who was raised in China, but now lives in Hong Kong with her American husband. She said she was surprised to see her American sister-in law walking around only a few days after giving birth. “Walking barefoot on concrete floors so soon is unthinkable in China,” she said.
