Eating Your Way to Health During Your Confinement Period

The idea of a confinement month after giving birth is nothing strange to Southeast Asian culture. Typically, the Chinese confinement month lasts 28 days. As a new mother, it is a time to rest and recuperate after having gone through nine months of growing a little human inside your womb. Congratulations! You have endured these nine months and your baby has grown healthily from the size of a teeny tiny seed to a little human. In traditional Chinese culture, apart from getting enough rest, many believe that eating the right confinement food is another dictating factor for how well a mother can recover from her pregnancy and birthing experience. Eating With a Purpose During this recovery period, our grandmothers and mothers would always tell us to consume more red dates tea, drink more Dome, and they would stock up on sesame oil and yellow rice wine to be used in their cooking for us; but besides them being traditional practices, why are we eating these foods? There is a 2-fold purpose for eating confinement meals, consuming Chinese herbs and making sure that your meals are filled with confinement ingredients that are approved by your grandmother and mothers: Firstly, traditional confinement herbs, tonics, and a well-balanced diet are believed to restore a woman’s depleted ‘qi’ or energy and blood and detox ‘dirty’ blood and toxins from the body. This will help the uterus to pass out lochia after giving birth to a new life, and eventually, aiding the body to regenerate and function at its best. Secondly, confinement meals are tailor-made to boost a mother’s milk supply for the baby. Breastmilk is a baby’s sole source of nutrition for at least the first 6 months. Not to mention, the production of breastmilk also means a continuous transferring of nutrients from mother to baby, hence replenishing nutrients is vital for a mummy’s health. Now, seeing how a mother’s body goes through different phases of changes to accommodate a new life, Chinese herbs and selected ingredients are then used to regain a mother’s immunity and minimise the possibilities of unwanted post-natal conditions in the future. Why 5 Meals a Day? A mother is literally ‘eating for two’. It can be a daunting task to be eating more than what she is used to. A good tip is to eat less amounts each meal, but increase the frequency of your meals throughout the day. This will make up the amount you need in a day for your body’s recovery and the baby’s needs. As such, breaking down your confinement diet into 3 main meals and 2 snacks in between can ensure a continuous replenishment of nutrients. What Types of Food to Consume? Understandably, planning for a confinement diet can be quite stressful, especially with all these traditional taboos surrounding it. Luckily, we’ve come up with some useful tips for you to focus on for your confinement meal: High Protein During pregnancy, especially in the last trimester, the baby in the womb will draw a high amount of protein and calcium from her mother to develop strong bones and muscles. This process continues after delivery, during postpartum, via breastfeeding. Consuming a high protein diet supports your baby’s growth as well as helps to heal the wounds and the organs inside your body. Traditional dishes like the vinegar pork trotter are a high protein and warming dish to restore lost energy. Rich in Iron Mothers generally lose around 500ml of blood during vaginal birth and about a litre if it’s a Caesarean delivery. It is important to eat iron-rich food such as sesame oil, black fungus, fish, and dark green vegetables to help with the reproduction of blood. Hence, the yellow wine chicken makes for an excellent choice. Adequate Calories As a new mother, you should avoid eating food that is too high in fat. However, you still need ample calories to help you with your recovery, and to provide energy to care for the newborn and increase your breastfeeding production. Loading up on red date tea and Chinese herbal soup is a great way to provide your body with enough calories without all the unnecessary fat. Dietary Fibre In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are some vegetables that are considered ‘cold’ and thus our elders would advise against them. However, that doesn’t mean entirely cutting out your dietary fibre intake. This is important to help avoid constipation. Dark green vegetables like bok choy, kailan (Chinese kale), spinach, and carrots are great options. You may also enjoy fruits like red apples, papayas, and guava. Avoid Caffeine Caffeine usually ends up in breastmilk and that would give you a restless and cranky baby. Therefore, it is best to avoid coffee and tea as long as you are breastfeeding—or at least during the confinement month. A healthier alternative is to opt for nourishing teas such as red date tea, fried rice grains tea, black bean tea, lemongrass tea or ginger rice tea instead. These beneficial alternatives can help boost your blood circulation and warm your body. Alcohol in Cooking The Chinese confinement goes through copious amounts of alcohol—like the yellow rice wine and ginger wine—in its cooking. It is believed that these wines promote blood circulation and clear lochia. It is safe to consume them as the alcohol is usually cooked off. The amount of alcohol used in cooking will also not affect your baby if you are a breastfeeding mother. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate It is utterly important for a postpartum mother to keep herself hydrated. During confinement, your body is working on overdrive to produce milk for your newborn baby. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners believe that water contains ‘wind’. Hence, we would have heard from our grandmothers to avoid drinking water during confinement. However, this is an untrue confinement myth and an oversimplified statement that should be taken with a pinch of salt. You may still drink boiled, warm water, and increase your intake of Chinese herbal tea, soup, and even milk to ensure hydration. When In Doubt If we were to follow through with the traditional Chinese practices, there are a million and one taboos to skirt around. Different families have different passed-down practices and beliefs, too. The confinement month is essentially a designated month of rest for the new mother, so the last thing she needs is to stress over it. To unload the burden off the shoulders of new parents, why not entrust your journey to recovery to Byond28? Why Byond28? Established in 2020, Byond28 Confinement Centre understands that this critical postnatal month requires comprehensive mother and baby care. The confinement centre combines the best of traditional Chinese care with modern medical practices. Located in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, the establishment is backed by a reserved forest which makes for a tranquil, recuperative stay. It provides 24-hour nursing care for newborns. The baby nursery is structured with reference to a hospital setting and is equipped with an individual ground floor emergency exit, a two-tiered air ventilation system with HEPA filters, and a separate observation and isolation room for your baby. The Faces Behind Byond28 Backed by a team of highly experienced and board-certified medical professionals, Byond28 is set to provide the best ante- and postnatal care for mum and babe. Weekly paediatrician check-ups on the newborns will be carried out and in-room consultation will be provided for the mothers. Mums will be pleased to know that Byond28 Confinement is a breastfeeding-friendly confinement centre with NLC (Malaysian National Lactation Centre)-certified in-house counsellors available for private consultations. Its counsellors are ever ready to help new mums to navigate through the journey of breastfeeding. Not forgetting, its team of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and nursing staff are also all hands-on deck to guide parents through the challenges of postpartum and baby care. Its O&G and paediatrics are headed by Dr Krishna Kumar S/O Hari Krishnan and Dr Kenneth Looi respectively, both experienced specialists in their fields. Hence, parents can be confident that mum and baby are in good hands during this first month after birth. Side note, it is comforting to note that Byond28 encourages a healthy parental relationship between mum/dad and baby through its many talks for the new parents. Mums and dads will learn the theory and gain hands-on experience on breastfeeding and handling breastmilk, bathing, caring for, massaging, and soothing their baby, among other topics. Eat Well for a Healthier You Having discussed at length at the start of this article about the importance of eating well during one’s confinement month, there is no one better than Byond28 Confinement to talk to when it comes to confinement meals. The meals are carefully designed to ensure maximum nutrition absorption without compromising on the delicious tastes of Chinese confinement cooking for its residents. Mouth-watering offerings such as the vinegar pork trotter and yellow wine chicken are both available on the menu. Daily personalised herbal tonic soups using premium SWS 永生 herbs, bird’s nest, and essence of chicken are provided to hasten the mum’s recovery. And speaking of staying hydrated, the centre offers a variety of free-flow herbal teas (and in-house lactation cookies!) to ensure hydration and boost breastmilk! The First 28 Days and Beyond As the name implies, Byond28 strives to walk with mothers through and beyond 28 confinement days. At Byond28, mothers not just get to rest, recover, and rejuvenate, it also prepares both parents for lifelong parenting journey! To learn more about the confinement centre, and your ante- and postnatal needs, feel free to schedule an appointment to meet with the professionals at Byond28. For more information, contact Byond28 at +6017 362 8548. Alternatively, you may visit their official website, Facebook and Instagram pages for more updates and fellow mothers’ reviews of their stay with the centre! Note: Byond28 serves pork-free meals upon request, schedule a meeting to find out more today! For more insightful stories and fun recipes, stay tuned to Motherhood Story!

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