Reinventing Chinese Postnatal Rituals: ‘Doing the Month’ in Taiwanese Postpartum Nursing Centres

Abstract

This article analyses the features of Taiwanese postpartum nursing centres in the context of extremely low fertility rates, in which shrinking family size leads to an increase in the resources available for each child and intensifies parents’ investment in their offspring. Some demographic changes, especially late marriage and the fact that average age of women giving birth the first time is constantly raising, lead to an ongoing reorganisation of postnatal care tradition. Drawing on centres’ websites content and presentations by 27 staff members about their centres, findings reveal a high degree of homogeneity in the services provided. This homogeneity comprises six features: hypervigilance concerning the risk of ailments; emphasis on medical expertise; strong tendency towards technologisation and digitalisation; prioritisation of the mother’s rest and physical recovery; the importance of personalised Chinese medicine based postpartum meals and of ‘getting your body back into shape’. I argue that this redefinition of postnatal rituals has a significant impact on family relationships, since through this institutionalisation, doing the month is transformed from a female family members intergenerational solidarity practice into an unequal relationship between an isolated mother and a medical team. Moreover, the professionalisation of postnatal care represents an individualistic understanding of motherhood and showcases an increasing class stratification in maternity and childhood investment.