Traditional Postpartum Practices Among Malaysian Mothers: A Review

To briefly describe the postpartum practices among the three major ethnic groups in Malaysia and to identify commonalities in their traditional postpartum beliefs and practices.

This narrative review collated information on traditional postpartum practices among Malaysian mothers through a literature search for published research papers on traditional postpartum practices in Malaysia.

This review shows that Malaysian mothers have certain postpartum practices that they considered to be important for preventing future ill health. Despite the perceived differences in intra-ethnic postpartum practices, most Malaysian mothers, although from different ethnicities, share similarities in their postpartum regimens and practices in terms of beliefs and adherence to food taboos, use of traditional postpartum massage and traditional herbs, and acknowledgment of the role of older female family members in postpartum care.

Health care providers should be aware of multiethnic traditional postpartum practices and use the commonalities in these practices as part of their postpartum care regimen.