Days of being confined

To be confined is commonly defined as to be restricted in movement, to be kept within bounds or to be shut and kept in within a certain space. For example, a sick child has to be confined to his/her bed; or both Aung San Suu Kyi and Benazir Bhutto were confined to their house for political reasons. For many asian women, I believe the only time most of us will be voluntarily and willingly confined to the house is the during our post baby delivery confinement period. I recently had a c-section to deliver my second son on 18th September 2009. My son, RJ delcarmen Ng was born at 1149 hrs at Pantai Bangsar Hospital. Today, 22nd September 2009, as I am writing this blog entry, would be my second day of confinement.

The concept of post delivery confinement relates to very specific post-natal care for one month after childbirth. Predominantly a Chinese practice (but is now practiced by many asian ladies), this one month period known as the confinement period is believed to be a crucial time where the new mother’s strength and vitality must be properly replenished to prevent ailments like premature ageing or rheumatism from setting in. Apart from being a preventive measure against health problems, certain ingredients used in the special diet during the confinement period is also intended to help boost the body for breast milk production. This special diet is made up of confinement foods targeted towards specific functions like dispelling “wind” from the body, quelling “heatiness”, boosting blood circulation, revitalizing strength etc.

The mainstay of confinement food comprises common ingredients found in any regular Chinese diet such as ginger, sesame oil, black vinegar, Chinese rice wine, pepper, chicken, fish and pork. Other ingredients of confinement food include fairly general herbal provisions like Chinese wolfberry (Gou Qi Zi), angelica (Dang Gui), red dates, dried longans, black dates, black beans, black fungus and american ginseng; to not so commonly consumed items like Encommiae Bark (Du Zhong) and Polygonum (He Shou Wu). All the above mentioned confinement food ingredients have their specific health benefits to enhance the recovery and replenishment of the post natal lady.

(Information above used with permission from www.confinementfood.com. For more information please refer to http://www.confinementfood.com/confinement-food-benefits.html)

Whilst writing this blog entry, I had done plenty of research on the whole confinement thing. One particular website from Singapore caught my attention. The above mentioned website link offers an interesting service to all post natal ladies in Singapore. They offer confinement food catering for post natal ladies who need external help in preparing nutritious food to help them recuperate from their recent child birth. This service makes it very convenient for ladies who do not want to employ a confinement lady or whom do not have mothers or mothers in law to help with cooking.

Below are pictures of some of the herbs, ingredients, sundries and chinese medication needed for my smooth recovery during this one month confinement time.

Whilst uploading all the above pictures for this blog entry, it really made me think long and hard. It's no wonder and highly understandable why more and more married couples are putting off procreation. Adding up the financial cost of having a baby is enough to make a lot of people think twice before getting pregnant. Costs start during pregnancy continue through childbirth, go on through babyhood and definitely on through the child's life until he/she is financially independent of the parents. Having a baby is a long term commitment and like my mum always say to me that being a mother brings about a lifetime of worries. When you're pregnant, you may worry that the baby do not grow. After child birth, it will worry you if your baby is not feeding or eating well. During the child's growing years, you worry when they fall sick or when accidents/mishaps occur and the child hurt themselves. As a parent, you will never stop worrying and thinking for your child. Your child/children becomes your first priority and for some women, her kids may well be her only valuable assets.

I now have 2 lovely sons - Issac and RJ delcarmen Ng. Issac is a 4 years old boy who is very cheeky, active and witty. RJ is my new born, only 5 days old and so far he is a quiet and gentle baby. The mere thought of both of them brings about a natural smile on my face and a smile of pride and joy in my heart. Motherhood is a complete new experience, the journey will be tedious, ardous and sometimes painful but the happiness and sweetness derived along the way will help you overcome the sour, the bitter and the pain that comes with it. So to all the babes out there, do not shun away from procreation, do not be afraid of having a baby and being a mother. Embrace and embark on this new journey with open arms and a warm heart. Think about it seriously........till next time.............