𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭… 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?

传统坐月子 和 科学坐月子… 哪一个比较好呢？

Confinement is a very important “event” in the Chinese tradition. According to the ancient text, the practice of “confinement” after childbirth can be traced as far back as 2000 years ago. The tradition of “confinement” obviously has been practised for many generations, and yet, the traditional confinement practice has also invited controversies especially with modern, young couples.

One such apparent controversy is when one makes comparison against the Western culture. As many would know, there is no such practice of “confinement” in Western culture. These western mummies do not follow any diet restriction, curfew, “pantangs” etc. yet they are still “alright”. So that brings the question “Is Traditional Confinement Really Necessary?” or “Can we practice Modern Confinement like those westerners living in this modern era?”

There are many aspects of confinement we could discuss. Today, we will focus on the “food” aspect of confinement. Traditional Chinese confinement food takes many of its roots from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Mothers lost a lot of blood & Qi during the hard delivery process, and proper nourishment from the diet is essential in helping mothers to recover and restore energy and vitality. Particularly, mothers are recommended to consume food that helps restore blood & Qi and food that is “warm” to her body, whilst avoiding food that is “cold”. Some common ingredients in confinement food which serve such purposes are like wine, black sesame oil, ginger, vinegar, red bean, DangGui, HuangQi etc. Adding on with the need to produce good quantity & quality breastmilk, fish, chicken, and pork are also must-have items on the confinement food menu. Some of the most popular confinement food menus include Yellow Wine Chicken, Sweet Vinegar Trotter, Sesame Oil Chicken etc

What about from the Western perspective? Since there is no practice of confinement, does it mean that postnatal nutrition is not important to Western mothers? Of course not! Western medicine defines postpartum period as the first 6 weeks (42 days) after a baby is delivered. A healthy balanced diet based on nutrition science is essential in providing the necessary macro and micronutrients to help mothers to recover from pregnancy & childbirth and to produce breastmilk. This includes a balanced diet comprised of whole grains, lean protein, fibre, healthy fats, iron, calcium etc. Generally, there is not much “taboo” food from a nutrition science perspective.

So, which is better? Traditional confinement food or modern confinement food?

At PopoMama, we believe learning the best from BOTH schools in designing our menu. And moderation is key！