How did the custom of confinement for lying-in women come from?

confinement refers to a pregnant woman's pregnancy process, which is 6-8 weeks after delivery, which is different from the lifestyle, diet and recuperation of daily life. In medicine, this period is called puerperium, which is commonly known as confinement in folk as one of the special phenomena in China's traditional fertility customs. The confinement period, which still has strong vitality, is a very special stage in a woman's life. After exertion, bleeding and physical exhaustion during delivery, Maternal women are in a state of deficiency of both blood and qi, just as the folk saying goes, "Having a baby is like climbing a mountain of blood, and the full moon will pass the gate of death". Whether the life and rest during this period are properly nursed or not is directly related to the future health of the maternal women. It is generally believed that if the maternal women can take scientific and appropriate rest, tonic and exercise at this stage, the maternal body can recover or even surpass the pre-pregnancy state. On the contrary, if they don't sit on the moon, it will bring health to the future. The incurable "Moon Disease"

During pregnancy, women's body has undergone great changes, and during childbirth, they have experienced a tiring delivery process. At this time, women are in an extraordinary period of physical exhaustion and physical weakness, and their immunity is low. Therefore, they must rest in peace for a period of time to restore their bodies to the pre-pregnancy state, which is the origin of confinement.

In the history of China, the earliest record of confinement custom is the Internal Rules of the Book of Rites. It reflects the family etiquette system in the pre-Qin period, which has a history of more than 2, years. The book calls confinement "within the month", which is a manifestation of the respect for women's social status in the pre-Qin period. Generally, confinement is done by women, but there are some exceptions in different regions and different ethnic groups at different stages of development, such as the ancestors of ethnic minorities such as Gelao, Zhuang and Dai in southwest China, in order to replace the status and prestige of their mothers in the family. Men will try their best to record the credit for giving birth to children in their own names, so the confinement will be done by men. This is called the birthing system. Taiping Guangji quoted Wei Chishu's Southern Chu News as saying: "If there is a wife in the south, her husband will lie on the bed and eat like a nurse." The Southern Chu News also recorded: "The more vulgar, his wife or son, the more vulgar. Ancient Liao and Yue women completed their mission after giving birth, while their husbands pretended to have just given birth, rested in bed, took on the credit and responsibility of confinement, and accepted the condolences and congratulations from relatives and neighbors. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Gelao people in Weining, Guizhou Province still kept the custom of producing Weng. In addition, the custom of producing Weng was not unique in China, but also very popular among different ethnic groups in other parts of the world, Xiao Xiao in North America.