Science Meets Tradition: Meet Bernice Chu, MSPH RD

Hi there! I’m Bernice — a Johns Hopkins-trained Registered Dietitian (MSPH/RD), former Senior Program Officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and a Chinese American mom of two.

I was born in Nanjing and raised in Richmond, Virginia, and I now live in the Takoma neighborhood of Washington, DC, with my husband (a fellow scientist), our two kiddos, and our two cats, Timber and Storm.

My heart has always lived at the intersection of science, culture, and food. I spent a decade at the National Academies directing complex healthcare studies that informed federal policy, including the 2021 update to the WIC food packages.

When I had my second baby, I saw a massive gap in the maternal health world: there was almost no high-quality, evidence-based postpartum nutrition guidance that respects cultural heritage.

I left my high-level public health career to spend more time with my kids and focus on a new mission: helping moms navigate the First Forty Days with confidence, the way that my mom helped me.

In Chinese culture, the postpartum period is known as Zuo Yue Zi (坐月子), or “sitting the month” — a sacred time of rest and recovery. I created Sit the Moon to guide you through this transformative time with scientifically sound, culturally rooted postpartum nutrition advice and recipes my own family has cooked for generations.