Confinement Myths

Confinement. The one month of misery most Asian women are forced to go through with no justification. For my non-asian readers, these are some of the horror we have to go through:

1. No washing hair 2. No drinking water ; only Red Date Tea 3. No leaving the house for a month 4. Only bathe in herbal water 5. Only eat confinement food (which is ridiculously oily btw)

And yes, my mom tried to make me eat the horrible, horrible confinement food that Chinese woman have claimed it has help them stay youthful throughout the years.

I got the above picture from Google search. So please dont sue me.

People actually tell me this:

This is why Asians age slower than white woman; because we take care of ourselves during confinement by following these rules

Err, say what?

Many Asian girls I know actually blame their poor health to not following confinement traditions when they were younger – although it is quite clear it was because they simply did not maintain a healthy diet nor exercise. I actually have my mom tell me that the reason of my backache in the begining of my pregnancy was because I was eating too much Western food. 😑😑

I personally am not a fan of Chinese confinement food and refuse to succumb to old wives tale assuming these beliefs will make me happier when I am the one who just had a baby. During my first month all I wanted was water and nothing sweet, so I secretly threw away all the red date tea my mom brewed. I did not want disgusting stale Chinese confinement food so I got my husband to cook dishes with superfood products that I adore. (Which was also alot healthier and tastier than any confinement food being offered to me)

You will regret not following rules because your body will never recover from child birth

I was being warned that my baby would not grow well, that I wouldn’t recover from my wounds, and I will grow old with aches all over because I refuse to follow the confinement rules.

I went back for my 1month postpartum check up, my gyne told me he was surprised at the rate of my recovery and said I could start exercising ASAP. I started my weekly runs again and went back to Crossfit by the time I was 3 month Postpartum.

I hired a jamu to help me flatten my tummy, and she mentioned my body did not look like the body of someone who just had a baby. Of course I told her my secret – exercise and a healthy diet.

Your baby will not develop well because you did not eat confinement food

During Eilidh’s first checkup with the PD, the doctor said she was growing very well and fast, and was very satisfied with her development. Even friends and relatives who have seen her always never fail to mention how alert and strong she is at such a young age!

Don’t get me wrong, I do not think confinement rules are rubbish. They were probably practiced during a time when water and food were unsanitary, the weather was too cold to be outdoors… In ancient china.

I feel many of these rules we are forced to follow as based on old traditions that nobody bothered asking why and following it blindly. New moms who are already so stress about having a baby shouldn’t be forced to follow rules that make them feel uncomfortable. If there are no scientific evidence behind a practice, don’t stress yourself over it 😉 The whole purpose of confinement is keeping yourself healthy so baby will be too, and there is no one way to do it.