There’s no denying that childbirth is gruelling and can take a toll on a mother’s body. In Asia and Southeast Asia, most mothers go through a traditional practice called the confinement period, after the delivery of a baby. 

Confinement is a traditional post-natal practice for mothers, and it includes care practices relating to traditional health beliefs, taboos, rules, prohibitions and other proscriptions. Beginning immediately after birth, confinement is a period of adjustment and care for both mother and baby. Its purpose is to support new mothers, allowing them to recuperate and rejuvenate physically and emotionally, and helping them transition into motherhood. 

Modern confinement practices offer a choice of hiring a confinement nanny or heading to a confinement centre during this period. This is a common question for all mummies: confinement centre or confinement nanny? Here are some thing you should consider when making your decision:

Traditional Practices

Confinement nannies or confinement ladies are usually older women who adhere to more traditional confinement practices such as no washing hair for 30 days, no showering or no drinking plain water. The list of traditional beliefs go on and on, and each confinement nanny might have a different view as well. 

Most confinement centres also believe in traditional dietary restrictions or practices but those are backed by science in order to help the new mummies to rejuvenate and nourish themselves back to health. They usually adopt a more modern approach to care for a mother’s wellbeing. Confinement centres place more emphasis on nutrition to nourish the body and allow the body to rest and recuperate. Some confinement centres even have facilities like a hair salon, spa treatments and massage room to pamper mothers.

Food

The right type of confinement food to eat after having a baby is important. At confinement centres, you will usually find an extensive confinement menu cooked in dedicated kitchens by qualified chefs. As special consideration is made during the development of the confinement menu, you can be assured that you will receive wholesome meals with carefully selected ingredients to aid in your recovery. 

While a confinement nanny is expected to prepare meals for you, you will still need to prepare raw ingredients to cook. This means that someone in your household will need to source these raw ingredients on your behalf. 

Convenience & 24-Hour Care
Usually a confinement nanny will stay in the same room as your baby to handle night feedings and settle your baby after each feed. They will also bathe your baby and change dirty diapers. However, confinement nannies are usually not trained professionally and their practices are usually based on their experience only. 

In most confinement centres, everything for your newborn is provided for – diapers, clothings, bath products, swaddles and more. At reputable confinement centres, babies will usually be taken care of by qualified nurses. With 24-hour care from qualified and experienced nurses, you can be sure that you and your baby will be in great hands. Each baby cot in the nursery area is also equipped with a baby surveillance camera, which allows the parents to monitor their baby through their smartphone on-the-go. The centre also employs its own private security guard around-the-clock to provide a secure, stress-free environment for the parents and the baby.

Housekeeping

In a confinement centre, you will not need to worry about housekeeping. Most confinement centres even provide clothes and uniforms or laundry services, so you do not have to worry about dirty laundry. This way, you can focus on your recuperation and not get distracted by household chores. 

On the other hand, there are some confinement nannies who would only do basic chores like cleaning the kitchen and washing baby’s clothes. You or your spouse will need to settle all other household chores.

Support and Help

A confinement nanny can be a wonderful confidant, who’s there for you at any time. However, not all confinement nannies have gone through the training needed to support the postnatal needs of a mother, especially if you are breastfeeding. We’ve all heard of horror stories where confinement nannies insist on only bottle feeding and overfeeding the baby, or those who cause more grief with practices that stress an already emotional mother. 

Most confinement centres, on the other hand, provide lactation consultation to help mothers with their breastfeeding issues along the way. They have a breastfeeding support group to share knowledge and experiences, so that when you go home, you can happily breastfeed your babies with ease.
If you still can’t decide, come check out Danai Cresenvale and discover how we can make a difference in your postnatal experience.