09/06/2026
Postpartum recovery: The Golden Month.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the golden month is a recovery period in the 30 to 40 days post partum. It is an acknowledgement, not just of the demands of nine months of pregnancy, but also the act of giving birth, and is considered essential for mental health, future fertility and long term constitution. The aim is to emerge from this period of rest and recovery fully restored to your former state. There is an emphasis on resting when the baby is resting, keeping warm and taking on highly nourishing, easily digestible warm foods, such as congees, bone broths and slow cooked stews.
In traditional Chinese medicine, yin is the cooling, moistening, nourishing aspects of our bodies: all fluids, including blood, are part of our yin. Yang is more ephemeral and intangible - it is the warming, activating, motivating part of our energies. We say that both pregnancy, commonly a hot condition, and the act of giving birth make huge demands on our yang.
It is this drain on our yang that makes us vulnerable to cold entering our systems so keeping warm and eating warming foods are essential post partum. Pregnancy and labour also make huge demands on our blood and qi so this a good time to take on foods that nourish the blood, such as leafy greens and red meat, and strengthen the qi. It can be as simple as adding Chinese red dates, a blood tonic, and cinnamon, a qi tonic, to your porridge.
The golden month was predicated on a society where we had many natural support systems, probably living in or near the same village as both mother and mother-in-law. The work of cooking and cleaning would have been taken on by female relatives, giving time to rest, recover and establish breastfeeding in a calm and secure environment. This is not how most of us live nowadays so it’s important to work out how you can give yourself a golden month. I’m pretty sure having my mother and mother in law to stay for a month whilst I was getting to grips with motherhood would have been the opposite of zen and cocooning!
Try and plan a way give yourself a golden month. It might involve your partner taking on the cooking and cleaning.(a miraculous result for me was my husband became our head chef from the birth of our first child).
Traditionally you were not meant to leave the house or wash your hair during this time as this risked exposing you to cold but I think with the advent of hairdryers this is not necessary. Just be careful to dry your hair straight away , not go out or sleep with wet hair, and, if you go outdoors keep it brief and keep the torso from belly button and kidneys downwards extra warm and protected. In Winter a merino body suit would be great for this!
Another important consideration is, the golden month is meant to be a time where you are protected emotionally. This would have been an understanding that we are more vulnerable to unsettled emotions after giving birth as our bodies and energies are changing so rapidly, not least considering the sleep deprivation and responsibility of looking after a new born. Understand you might not be able to deal with chaotic world events, so protect yourself from the news, and consider whether you need to lay down boundaries around visitors to the house.
As pregnancy and labour are so draining on the Yang, in Traditional Chinese Medicine we use a technique known as moxibustion, where a herb is used to warm certain points and meridians. This treatment has become known as Mother warming and it is a one off treatment that should be done from 3-4 days post partum. Due to practicalities it’s best to discuss this with your TCM practitioner towards the end of pregnancy and they can teach you to self administer.
From two weeks after birth, it’s highly recommended to start acupuncture treatments to aid stamina and recovery, balance the emotions, and address any issues around healing and breast feeding.
