The exertions of childbirth can significantly weaken any female, especially if she doesn't take extra care to recuperate and recover her strength.
Post delivery confinement relates to very specific post-natal care for one month after childbirth, commonly known as the confinement period. It is primarily a Chinese practice to use food as a form of therapy during this one-month period to replenish the strength and revitalize the general health of the new mother.
It is fundamentally believed that the confinement period is a crucial phase where the new mother can fully optimize her postnatal recovery through a distinctive diet aimed at strengthening her "weakened" post delivery condition as well as minimizing an assault of ailments from developing later.
A unique diet comprising an array of confinement food is tailored towards ensuring the new mother overcome health conditions frequently related to childbirth. These may include fatigue, hair loss, back aches, "wind" in the body, anaemia etc.
Another reason why so much emphasis is placed on the confinement diet is because certain ingredients used in confinement food recipes provide extremely good nutrition aimed at boosting the body for lactation and milk production. One common confinement dish consumed mainly for increasing milk flow is Fish & Papaya Soup.
Vital ingredients commonly found in confinement food recipes would include sesame oil, ginger, black vinegar, eggs, rice wine, red dates, black fungus, pepper, Chinese wolfberry (Gou Qi), lily flower, Polygonum (He Shou Wu), Angelica (Dang Gui), etc.
As a whole, the postnatal diet using these ingredients is aimed towards helping to:
1. Dispel "wind".
2. Purge post-delivery stale blood.
3. Boost good intestinal digestion.
4. Purify the blood and cleanse the arteries.
5. Improve internal strength and vitality.
6. Enhance blood circulation.
7. Overcome post-delivery fatigue.
8. Prevent back aches.
9. Prevent postnatal hair loss.
Hence, despite being a traditional practice, many contemporary mothers who realistically follow the confinement dietary repertoire can attest to its effectiveness in enhancing postnatal recovery; thus explaining why it is still very widely practised in the Chinese community for so many years.
Modern working mothers who have no prior knowledge about cooking should not be unduly stressed about their special dietary requirements during the confinement period. One solution is to hire a confinement nanny (also known as a confinement lady) to take charge of the cooking on top of helping with various post-natal chores.
For those who are not prepared to incur excessive expenditure to fulfill these errands which their maids are fully capable of managing, professional confinement food catering offers an ideal solution to address the issue.
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