Chinese Confinement 坐月

What Is Confinement?

Chinese confinement, or zuò yuè (坐月), is a traditional postnatal practice designed to help a new mother recover from pregnancy, labour and childbirth. During this period, both mother and baby are mainly confined at home to rest and recuperate.

For Chinese families, the confinement period usually lasts for a full month, which also coincides with the baby’s first month celebration. During this time, new mums are expected to follow many taboos, dietary rules and restrictions.

When I had Mr K and Ms C, my mother flew over from Singapore on both occasions to help me for six weeks. Traditionally, your mother or another experienced female elder — perhaps your mother-in-law — would care for you during this period. In Singapore, if you do not have family support, you can hire a confinement nanny for a month. These ladies are usually very experienced and will cook special meals while helping to care for both mother and baby.

Nowadays, some new parents also choose to stay at a confinement centre after the baby is born. These centres are especially popular in places such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and China. They provide hotel-style accommodation, nutritious confinement meals, baby care support and nurses to assist both mother and newborn throughout the recovery period. For many modern parents, it offers a balance between traditional confinement practices and professional care.

Confinement begins the moment you return home from the hospital, or in some cases, immediately after birth. Not every Chinese mother follows all the traditional restrictions nowadays — it really depends on the individual. However, in my case, if I ignored the customs, my mother would have nagged and scolded me until I obeyed! Luckily, I had Mr K during winter, which made some of the rules slightly more bearable, as I will explain below.

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The “Can’t Do” List

No washing your hair for a whole month

Yes, I am serious! You definitely would not have wanted to stand or sleep next to me. I did not wash my hair for the entire month and when I finally combed it, my orange comb was covered in stains. Thankfully, it was winter, so I hardly sweated. Can you imagine doing this in a hot and humid country?

No seafood

Foods such as prawns and crabs are considered “toxic” or harmful to the body during recovery, especially if you have had a C-section.

No “cooling” foods

Certain fruits and vegetables such as pineapple and cucumber are believed to cool the body too much, which is thought to slow recovery.

No “windy” foods

Foods like onions are believed to introduce “wind” into the body, which according to traditional beliefs may cause discomfort or aches later in life.

No air conditioning or fans

This was one of the hardest rules for me. Imagine being trapped indoors in a hot country with no fan or air conditioning! When I had Ms C, the weather was unbearably warm and I had to keep the curtains drawn and stay in a darkened room just to keep cool.

The older generation strongly believes that avoiding these things helps prevent health problems such as rheumatism, body aches and headaches in old age.

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The “Must Do” List

Cover yourself from head to toe

Yes, even in warm weather! Long trousers, socks and long sleeves are encouraged to keep “cold wind” out of the body.

Bathe with herbal-infused water

Instead of regular baths, many women use water infused with traditional herbs to cleanse the body and improve circulation.

Follow a special confinement diet

There is a huge variety of confinement foods, but the key ingredients are usually ginger, sesame oil and black vinegar, which are believed to help remove “wind” from the body and improve recovery.

My mother cooked me many different dishes including lean pork with ginger and sesame oil, sesame oil chicken, fish soup, spinach soup and other healthy meals. My mother-in-law also made the famous ginger and black vinegar pig trotters dish — which I politely returned to her! I simply could not stomach it. People say it is excellent for removing toxins and replenishing the body, but the sight of the pig trotters completely put me off.

I also do not eat pork liver, kidneys or pig stomach, even though they are considered iron-rich foods that help replace blood loss after childbirth.

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I honestly struggle to describe how I felt during confinement. On one hand, I appreciated the care, rest and support from my family. On the other hand, I felt dirty and trapped because I was not allowed to shower properly, wash my hair or even leave the house. For an entire month, I stayed indoors with my children while my husband handled all the shopping, errands and even tasks such as registering the babies’ names and GP appointments.

Looking back now, I am grateful to have experienced this important Chinese tradition, even though some parts were extremely difficult. I have done my duty of having two children — and hopefully, I will never need to go through confinement again!