There are some weird limits Chinese women often impose on themselves after delivery. No showering, no going out, no eating anything cold, no touching cold water, no brushing teeth, blowing wind, no nothing for a month.

It is called zuoyuezi, "sitting out the month" or postpartum confinement. Chinese believe women will suffer less from diseases in old age if they follow this tradition. There is no medical or scientific evidence for the practice, which was also common in pre-modern Europe, but many are adamant believers anyway.

So when her entire Chinese community, including her modern, dreadlocked, musician Chinese husband and their "very wise tai chi" teacher suggested she should follow the tradition, 36-year-old Ember Swift from Canada found it hard to stand up for herself. After all, like they said, "How can you argue with 5,000 years of history?" The zuoyuezi tradition is first documented in the Song Dynasty (960-1276).

Horrifying and ridiculous as those rules might sound, Swift looked on the bright side: a whole month of resting, no worrying about cooking and cleaning sounds appealing.

"They said if I didn't do it, I would be weak in my system. And they always back it up with 'Because you are in your 30s,'" she told the Global Times. "I was like 'Hehe, no, thank you.' but part of me was like 'What if they are right? And why not? Just a month.'"

So while her American friend, who gave birth three weeks after her, was walking in the sunshine at Chaoyang park in Beijing with her baby a week after her cesarean section, Swift was "jailed" in her house.

Locked in

A few days after she gave birth to a baby girl on January 2, they swaddled her in clothes and quickly transferred her to home. Her mother-in-law was ready to take care of her and make sure she did not run away.

That was the beginning of her postpartum confinement, which she calls the "moon month." Swift said she did a lot of research on the period, but the hardest part was that her knowledge did not get a lot of credit.

"Part of the 'moon month' is allowing yourself to be cared for, to the point that they think you know nothing and they know everything," she said.

Her father-in-law told her that she could certainly bathe and did not have to remain in bed 24/7, and that she could even go out a bit with the baby. But then her husband disagreed. "My father doesn't understand. He was raised in a time when all traditional culture was rejected."

An hour after her delivery, she walked slowly back to the room with her baby rolling in her bassinet. Much to the shock to the staff, she had a bit of a cheerleader squad, as Chinese women do not generally walk themselves out of the delivery room. For her, that short distance was her walk of fame.

Fear of freezing

The whole point of zuoyuezi is the fear of getting cold. Air conditioners and fans are definitely prohibited. In some cases, a window in another room could be opened for a while to get fresh air. But getting out is impossible. Exposure to the cold is believed, unsupported by any medical evidence, to cause arthritis and migraines in old age.

Swift adjusted the Chinese tradition for modern urban lifestyles. She showered every three or four days; she did fun activities like reading, watching TV and surfing online. Visitors are usually not welcome during the "moon month." But her Western friends came to visit, while her Chinese friends waited for a month.

She even had a "prison break" on her 24th day. There was a breastfeeding meeting right around the corner. It was a beautiful and sunny January day. She convinced her mother-in-law to let her and the baby go out.

Everyone was worried. When she walked out, they all stood on the balcony and yelled out "Are you OK? Is it too cold?" The baby was fine. But when she got back, she had the worst cold ever and was sick for two weeks.

"My mother-in-law kept saying it is because I didn't fully honor the 'moon month,'" she said.

"Maybe they are right about the one-month thing, maybe I should have waited the whole month or even longer," she continued. Others might attribute it to coincidence, or to weakening her health by remaining indoors for so long.

Culture conflicts

Swift had to convince her mother-in-law that as a vegetarian she could produce enough milk for the baby without drinking soup cooked with "all the crazy animal parts."

"Negotiating natural birth and breastfeeding is pretty much a challenge," she said. "I have to convince everybody that despite my vegetarian diet and the fact that I am in my 30s, the baby is going to be fine."

"But since the baby was born, everyone has kept saying to me 'Is your milk enough?' I was like, 'How do I know?' I hate the question 'Is it enough?' Stop asking me that!"

Her own parents, who do not really understand the tradition, came to visit her during the month, while her husband was away in New Zealand.

To stop two powerful and caring mothers from a cultural collision, she had to talk her mother-in-law out of providing all the food and hosting services to her parents. She explained to her parents that she would not be able to pick them up at the airport nor help them to check in and the only place they could see her was in her house.

The rules may be nonsensical but Swift said she is willing to go through the process again and introduce the "moon month" to her Western friends.

"Maybe in all family situations this is common, but in cross-cultural family situations where two different languages and customs are featured, this may be the golden key to harmony!" she said.