![\"blog-confinement-blues\"](\"https:\/\/chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/blogconfinementblues.jpg\" "\\"blog-confinement-blues\\"")
The common rejoinder \/ nag when asked why such prohibitions is that you\u2019d get rheumatism, back pains etc. when you\u2019re old age.<\/p>\nIt could be an Asian thing, but from the man\u2019s point of view at least, confinement for Chinese mummies in Singapore sure isn\u2019t easy. The engagement of confinement nannies and helpers is a cottage industry here, with fees of 28 days help going upwards of $1800 to $2000.<\/p>\n
To be honest, the price of help was never quite the issue with me (and Ling). Rather, it\u2019s the tussle between traditional confinement \u2018practices\u2019 versus good old common sense.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure several of these practices are familiar to Singapore women, but for the benefit of Matt \u2013 whom I\u2019m certain will be ROFLMAOing by the end of this post \u2013 here are some of them. According to these practices, for the one month after childbirth, women\u2026<\/p>\n
Are not allowed to bathe using normal water.<\/p>\n
Are not allowed to wash their hair.<\/p>\n
Are not allowed to be in air-conditioned environments.<\/p>\n
Can only drink red date tea.<\/p>\n
Cannot walk barefooted on marble floor.<\/p>\n
Heard enough yet\u2026?<\/p>\n
The common rejoinder \/ nag when asked why such prohibitions is that you\u2019d get rheumatism, back pains etc. when you\u2019re old age.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always thought it\u2019s so easy for these confinement practices apologists to say \u201cYou don\u2019t LISTEN, FINE!! You just wait\u2026 you\u2019d only feel effects when you\u2019re old!!!\u201d<\/p>\n
I mean, let\u2019s just be honest. It\u2019s going to be 30+ more years, and are people going to be able to draw direct correlations between your rheumatism and the fact that you bathed and wash your hair 30 years ago\u2026?<\/p>\n
To be fair, our confinement nanny is very nice and is at least sympathetic when Ling is obviously most distressed whenever she learns she cannot do something again. Ling did get a bit of grief initially from her own mum though early on, but things are OK again. And it\u2019s also fortunate that my own mum is a bit more liberal and agreeable that some of these customs don\u2019t really have to be followed strictly.<\/p>\n
And medical experts also question the sensibility of some of these practices. E.g. link here<\/a>.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s simply a want to be disobedient. It\u2019s just me maybe too, but I think it\u2019s absurd to ask Ling not to wash her hair for 28 days. It\u2019s a question of hygiene and not smelling unwashed.<\/p>\n And most importantly\u2026 she\u2019s sleeping in the same bed as I am LOL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It could be an Asian thing, but from the man\u2019s point of view at least, confinement for Chinese mummies in Singapore sure isn\u2019t easy. The engagement of confinement nannies and helpers is a cottage industry here, with fees of 28<\/p>\n