Any tears or incisions from the birth also heal. Your body is continually producing breast milk . Besides providing nutrition specifically designed for your baby, breast-feeding stimulates the uterus to contract to its nonpregnant size. Breastfeeding also enhances the baby's immune system and protects infants from many infections and chronic childhood diseases. In Western cultures, the emphasis is on pregnancy and birth during the childbearing year.
Little value is placed on the postpartum period that follows.
In contrast, traditional cultures value the postpartum period as a time for the mother and infant to bond, rest, and rejuvenate. Recent research shows that women in Hong Kong who participated in the traditional 40-day period of rest and seclusion following birth suffered less postpartum depression and recovered more quickly from their births.