After childbirth, your baby often becomes the center of attention. How beautiful they are! How well they sleep! And it’s already incredible how much they look like you. All these things are true, but let’s not forget the extraordinary work you have accomplished to get here. Now, it’s time for you to discover the Golden Month and its incredible benefits: 30 to 40 days entirely dedicated to your rest, reconnecting with yourself, and bonding with your baby.
SUMMARY:
- At the origins, an ancestral Chinese tradition
- Why is the Golden Month essential?
- Stay warm! The first pillar of the Golden Month
- Time to slow down: the importance of rest
- Surround yourself with support and kindness
- So, what about the couple’s place in this cocoon?
At the origins, an ancestral Chinese tradition
Imagine giving birth and, from that moment on, receiving all the care and attention you need, both emotionally and physically. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Well, that’s exactly what the Golden Month is, or Zuo Yue Zi 坐月子. Literally, to sit for a month in Chinese language.
Practiced in China for over 2,000 years, this tradition holds that the month following childbirth is crucial for the new mother’s short- and long-term recovery. Even though it has evolved greatly over the centuries, many of the Golden Month’s principles are still rooted in traditional Chinese medicine today.
- Complete rest in bed with your baby.
- Breastfeeding, if you wish.
- Warmth everywhere, at all times, and a strict avoidance of cold and humidity.
- A comforting diet.
- Adapted hygiene.
- Unwavering emotional support from loved ones.
- Rare and short visits.
The Golden Month is, above all else, about sharing and woman-to-woman transmission in complete intimacy. Thus, while traditions and rituals vary across countries, they always focus on warmth, rest, and inner and outer regeneration.
The Golden Month Around the World
- In South Korea, as in China, the postnatal period called Sanhujori, emphasizes rest, a nourishing diet, and maintaining body warmth to encourage recovery.
- In India, mothers benefit from hot oil massages, specific foods, and extended tranquility to restore their vital energy and ease the transition to motherhood.
- In Latin America, similar traditions exist. Women who give birth are surrounded and supported by their family, ensuring full recovery.
- In Africa, the postpartum period is also marked by a sacred time of rest, supported by family care, purification rituals, and a nourishing diet, all designed to protect the mother and newborn while strengthening their bond.
In France, thanks to a growing reconnection with oneself, the Golden Month is increasingly popular. Various initiatives have emerged: doula post-partum, care packages, or advisory apps and platforms such as Mois d'or or Oh Mama Care.
Why is the Golden Month essential?
The postpartum period is a time of major change: matrescence, discovering a new body, new responsibilities, and new emotions. Meeting your baby and discovering family life are also part of the experience, especially for a first birth.
However, after several months of emotional ups and downs, new mothers often feel drained, almost always tired, and sometimes achy. In traditional Chinese medicine, this is known as Qi Deficiency (energy). The mother needs to be "nourished," warmed, and revitalized to avoid weaknesses and emotional vulnerability that could lead to postpartum depression.
Thus, Chinese wisdom attributes a real healing power to the Golden Month; without it, illnesses contracted after giving birth could turn into chronic conditions.
Stay warm! The first pillar of the Golden Month
Live and eat warm
One of the main principles of the Golden Month (easier to follow in winter than in summer) is to strictly avoid all contact with cold and humidity (low temperatures, very cold water, drafts, etc.).
Historically, even showers and baths were not recommended during the first 6 weeks postpartum. Granted, since modern comfort (including the bathroom!) is much better than 2,000 years ago, a good compromise may be to thoroughly heat the room before entering, wash your body with very hot water, limb by limb, and dry off immediately.
Similarly, your diet should be nourishing, regenerative, and warm (including drinks). So even in warmer seasons, avoid raw, cold foods and beverages straight from the fridge.
And since in Chinese dietetics, each food has a nature and functions, think of broths, fresh ginger, chicken, eggs, dates and green vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, or goji berries. In short: proteins, fiber, vitamins, and minerals—and especially iron.
Time to slow down: the importance of rest
This is the second core principle of the Golden Month. After 9 months of pregnancy, giving birth, and before experiencing your first months with your baby, it’s time for your body and mind to rest.
Set up a cozy living space
Whether your fatigue is mental or physical, the Golden Month is here to help you overcome it. Stay in bed as much as possible, and to make this easier, arrange your living space based on your needs and those of your newborn. With support from your loved ones, turn it into a practical cocoon.
Pile on the cushions, blankets, and throws so you can settle in anywhere—sitting or lying down. Treat yourself to the rocking chair you’ve always wanted and a small cart or trolley to easily move snacks, a thermos of herbal tea, bibs, baby bottles, breast pump, diapers, or nursing pillow. You’ll see—it’s really convenient.
But above all, avoid getting up every time you need to get something around the house or apartment. No, you don’t have to become Cleopatra in her palace, but it’s really about getting organized and delegating.☺️
Enjoy care and massages—guilt-free
Massage—a true moment of (re)connection to your body—is a precious ally for fully benefiting from the effects of Zuo Yue Zi, physically and emotionally. Acupressure and reflexology, for example, play a key role in rebalancing vital energy. And to make the experience even more soothing and restorative, warm oils are ideal: they warm your body while relieving tension and aches.
- Abdominal massages help internal organs return to their place after childbirth, ease postpartum bleeding (lochia), and reduce bloating.
- Back and shoulder massages relieve built-up tension, especially if you are breastfeeding.
- Since the foot is rich in acupuncture points, massaging it improves blood circulation, encourages overall relaxation, and relieves swelling—common after childbirth.
Note that postpartum massages should always be performed by practitioners trained in traditional Chinese medicine to ensure proper techniques.
Focus only on yourself and your newborn
During the 40 days of this “postpartum confinement,” space out and shorten visits as much as possible to enjoy this time mindfully. So, set aside TV and streaming services for a while. Why? Because mental rest also helps you recover strength.
Need to keep busy? Try journaling, coloring, meditation, positive visualization, or personal development reading.
Note that the idea is not to cut yourself off from the world, but to choose who you see, how often, and for how long. That’s a great reason to avoid parents with young children who carry germs, lovers of disaster stories and bad news, and pessimists. 😉
Surround yourself with support and kindness
But to rest as much as you wish, you’ll need help—all the help you can get for everyday tasks like cleaning, shopping, laundry, and meals, just to name a few. This is even more essential if you already have children. In fact, the entire Golden Month experience is different with siblings.
Those coming to help should become true fairy godmothers. Their role? To relieve you of chores and mental load, much more than just sharing a cup of tea (at least for now). Thanks to their support, you’ll finally feel light and free of obligations—and enjoy pajama moments with your baby. 😊
Ideally, try to spend the first week completely in bed with your baby. Your partner, your mother, or a friend can manage the household. Friends can wait until the second or third postpartum week to come congratulate you (and, of course, contribute to your well-being with homemade meals, groceries, folded laundry, etc.).
So, what about the couple’s place in this cocoon?
Contrary to what one might think, the Golden Month can be valuable for couples, too. If you approach this time with listening, patience, and connection, it becomes an opportunity to weave new, stronger bonds right in the heart of parental transformation.
Create little rituals! Share an herbal tea together at the end of the day to reconnect, talk about your feelings, or enjoy the peace and quiet together. Offer each other small gestures: a shoulder massage, a treat to enjoy, a gift for no reason…
Involve your partner in baby care and in everyday tasks to create a real parental team. This cocoon, far from pulling you apart, becomes a unique pause—the perfect moment to reinvent everyone’s place in your new family dynamic.
A time to plant seeds of love
But postpartum is not only a time for physical recovery, it is also the moment when the first threads of the mother-child bond are woven through babywearing, breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or skin-to-skin. Every gesture becomes a seed of love planted to nurture a deep, lasting relationship.
The Golden Month is also an invitation for the mother to rediscover herself, as both a nurturer and a woman, in all her complexity and strength.
Taking care of yourself during this period means giving yourself the serenity and energy you need to care for your baby, now and beyond. By offering yourself this time of gentleness and attention, you cultivate a vital balance for your family harmony.
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