Food Taboo and ‘Yu fai’ Tradition in Perinatal Period in Northeast Thailand

Abstract

Introduction
Women in northeast Asian countries follow special practices during prenatal and postnatal periods. The traditional ‘Yu fai’ custom in Thailand includes a food taboo known as kalum. This paper intends to describe the unknown details of parturient women's traditional taboos in northeast Thailand.
Methods
Ethnographic semistructured interviews in the Thai language were conducted in February 2006 with 10 women in northeast Thailand who had babies ranging in age from newborn to 6 years.
Results
The purpose of Yu fai is to enable a mother who has recently undergone parturition to recover her pregestation physical and mental conditions following childbirth. Some new mothers will complain of bad health if they fail to apply Yu fai. Certain food taboos and recommendations are part of the Yu fai practice, and each has a specific context based on traditional beliefs.
Conclusions
The three objectives of Yu fai are identified as follows: to recover the mother's body to its usual pregestation condition; to enable sufficient breast milk or the capability for future pregnancies; to endure a long and healthy life. Applying Yu fai will influence a mother's lifetime health conditions after childbirth. Each of the prohibited or recommended food items is the result of specific contexts based on traditional beliefs. However, Yu fai is now changing, along with urbanization and improved communications, even in the rural areas of northeast Thailand.