With the arrival of Mini misschewy, I went through confinement once again. At the end of my confinement period, the hubs and I agreed that having a confinement nanny this time round felt more like a luxury, probably due to the fact that we are no longer first-time parents. If we were ever to have a third child (hehehe), we are pretty confident that we can actually go for DIY confinement because there is Mummamia Confinement which has been around for a few years now! Mummamia Confinement aims to provide hassle-free confinement through all products and services to new mummies who are busy and lack the appropriate knowledge on how to confine traditionally. With references from 皇帝内经 and TCM Physician advisors, all products and services by Mummamia Confinement are designed to help mummies recuperate, strengthen, support breastfeeding, and also promote healthy body and diet care.
After 9 months of pregnancy and giving birth, post-partum women experience deficiency in blood and Qi, weakening uterus that leads to “coldness” in body, back ache, appetite disorders, discomfort from bloated stomach due to excessive wind, discharge of lochia/ heavy discharge, unable to produce breast milk due to blocked breast duct, fatigue-ness, constipation problem, as well as heavy water retention in body. Besides proper confinement care, it is important that mothers consume herbal tonics to strengthen their bodies. Professionally prescribed by TCM Physicians, Mummamia’s Pre-packed Confinement Herbs focus on 5 main confinement recovery stages, namely: Expel, Remove, Rejuvenate, Recuperate, Tonify. Each box of pre-packed herbs contains 10 packs of herbs for Days 1 to 5, for 2 weeks. Each pack of herbs is enough to yield two servings of soup, hence I had it everyday for lunch and dinner during my confinement period.
Day 1: Nourish “Qi” & Tonify Yin
Day 2: Strengthening Spleen & Kidney
Day 3: Boosting Milk Supply and dissipate stasis
Day 4: Rejuvenate “Qi” & Blood
Day 5: Invigorate kidney and Reduce Water Retention
Day 6: continues as the Day 1
Preparation of the confinement herbs is hassle-free. Meat is optional but I prefer to add meat for taste. All the different soups tasted bitter of course, but were full-bodied. I like the fact that instead of having to get my own herbs from Chinese medicinal halls, everything is packed nicely and all I need to do is simply tear open the packet and pour the contents into the slow cooker. Very convenient!
Credit: Mummamia
It is recommended that mothers consume red dates during their confinenemt to avoid excessive water retention or getting “cold” during this period. Red Dates are rich in Iron and Vitamin C. Every pack of Mummamia’s Pre-packed Red Dates Tea consists of Red Dates, Black Dates, Dang Shen, etc. For a day’s worth of red date tea, I just need to boil one packet with about 1.5 to 2 litres of water every morning. I drank this every single day of my confinement and did not touch even a sip of plain water!
Credit: Mummamia
I find it very amusing whenever my friends ask, “You not going to shower during your confinement?” And I will always reply, “AIYO! Can shower la! Use those herbal bath la!” In fact, Ban Kah Chai Mom Confinement Herbal Bath contains ingredients like Man Jin Zi, Balsamiferou Blumea Herb (Da Feng Ai) and Lemongrass which help mothers to expel wind, dispel cold, improve blood circulation and reduce after birth pain. Instead of having to boil the herbs and water in a large pot like what my previous confinement nanny did, with the Ban Kah Chai Mom Confinement Herbal Bath, my nanny added boiling water into a large pail and soaked the herbal bath sachet in it for at least 3 minutes. Then, she added more warm water to make sure that I have enough water to bathe with! I didn’t wash my hair everyday since I didn’t perspire much at home and I hated having to spend so much time drying my long hair. On days when I washed my hair, my nanny would use two herbal bath sachets. Because the herbal bath water is black in color, most people think it’s dirty or sticky which is obviously not true! For mummies who want to stay clean during their confinement period, please do not shower with normal water. Get the Ban Kah Chai Mom Confinement Herbal Bath!
I had a very bad start to my breastfeeding journey for my first child. Hence, this time round, I was determined to make things right. I must say that Mummamia’s Nursing Herbal Soup is super amazing! Before I delivered, I passed a pack to my MIL so that she could have it on standby and boil the soup for me once I had delivered. I only consumed one pack which was rich enough for 3 servings of soup. The next day, my milk supply kicked in! Even the lactation consultant looked amazed when she came by to check on my progress! Each box contains 5 packets and I have only consumed 2 packets so far because I’m quite happy with my current supply. I even have excess frozen breastmilk to feed my firstborn when she stays with us on weekends! Besides promoting milk supply, the Nursing Herbal Soup also helps to reduce engorgement discomfort and reduce the risk of breast related inflammation.
Mummamia’s products are halal-certified and are also suitable for vegetarians! Here is a list of retailers where you can purchase Mummamia’s products from:
Mount Alvernia Hospital Retail Pharmacy
Thomson Medical Centre (Parentcraft Shop)
Time Enterprise, Aperia Mall, 12 Kallang Ave #03-16
Mom Essentials, KK Hospital Retail Mall #01-22
Mom Essentials, Square 2 #02-74
1010 Mother & Child, The Seletar Mall #B1-02/03
1010 Mother & Child, City Square Mall #B2-45/46
1010 Mother & Child, Waterway Point #02-28
Isetan Scotts, Level 4 Children Dept
Spring Maternity Suntec City Mall Tower 4 #02-721
Takashimaya Dept Store #B2 Food Hall (Lo Hong Ka)
Alternatively, you can also choose to shop online at Mummamia’s website and have the products delivered right to your doorstep! DIY confinement is made possible with Mummamia!