Tso Yeuh Tzu in a Taiwanese Maternity Care Centre: New Interpretations of an Old Postnatal Ritual

Abstract

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore how the traditional Chinese postnatal practices of Tso Yueh Tzu are being reshaped by first-time mothers in the modern health care setting of a maternity care centre in Taiwan. The traditional Chinese ritual practice of Tso Yueh Tzu is a long-lasting custom. The postnatal woman engages in a series of ritual practices with assistance from her family, especially her mother-in-law. The thirty day ritual involves a range of physical and social prescriptions and taboos that aim to bring the postnatal woman back to her pre-pregnancy state and achieve the psychological adaptation of the whole family to the new situation. Although traditionally carried out in the home, many modern Taiwanese women now follow Tso Yueh Tzu ritual practices in maternity care centres, which are becoming very popular. This interpretive ethnography explored the ritual of Tso Yueh Tzu, particularly how the ritual has been reshaped and renegotiated in the modern health care setting of the maternity care centre. Data collection techniques included participant observation, informal discussions, formal interviews, documentation, field notes, maps and photographs for eight months in a maternity care centre in Taipei. Data were analyzed using the method developed by Creswell (2003).