The postpartum period, also known as the confinement period, is crucial for a mother’s recovery and well-being. Nutrition plays a vital role in helping new mothers regain strength, support lactation, and promote overall healing.
In this Q&A, nutrition expert Phyllis Choong shares her insights on maintaining a healthy and balanced diet during confinement.
Confinement Diet: What to Eat for Recovery, Breastfeeding, and Postpartum Health
Q: Are TCM herbs safe during confinement?
Phyllis Choong: Most TCM herbs are plant-based and will not cause adverse side effects. Traditionally, selected herbs were prescribed to mothers to promote recovery during the confinement period. These herbs are generally safe for anyone to consume. However, we are advised to consult a TCM physician during pregnancy to tailor a customized confinement herbal bundle for each mother-to-be, as every body is unique.
Q: And how to manage food cravings and aversions?
Phyllis Choong: Here are some helpful tips for foodies:
- Make it mini. For example, go for a mini chocolate bar instead of a bigger version or a glass of low-fat chocolate milk rather than a tray of brownies.
- Give in. It’s totally fine to indulge a craving once in a while, then strive to eat well for the rest of the day.
- Find alternatives. If aversions during confinement are limiting your food intake, look for substitutes for the healthy foods that you can’t stomach right now.
Q: Which type of seafood is safe during this period?
Phyllis Choong: Consider consuming those with a lower mercury content. These are some seafood you may eat during your postpartum period:
- Salmon
- Mackerel
- White pomfret fish
- Red snapper
- Cod
- Seabass
- Prawn
Q: What are the most common myths about postpartum diets?
Phyllis Choong:
- No Drinking of Plain Water
- Myth: It will cause water retention and introduce wind to the mother.
- Truth: Drink adequate water to keep the body well-hydrated, prevent urinary tract infections, and avoid constipation.
- No Eating of Fruits and Vegetables
- Myth: Chinese belief states that fruits and vegetables are too cooling for the body after delivery.
- Truth: Fruits and vegetables provide essential nutrients such as Vitamin C for body resistance, wound healing, and iron absorption, Vitamin D for calcium absorption, and fiber to prevent constipation.
Q: Is it safe to consume soft drinks like Coca-Cola or even Milo?
Phyllis Choong: Yes, you can consume them! However, the consumption of these sugared drinks should be moderate. Drink more hot or warm beverages to help with recovery.
Q: Until which month should the confinement diet typically be followed?
Phyllis Choong: The confinement diet is typically advised to be followed for one month during the confinement period. During this time, good dietary practices help your body recover from postpartum changes and C-section wounds.
Q: Can you explain the nutritional advantages of bone broth during postpartum?
Phyllis Choong: Bone broth is rich in amino acids, minerals, and other nutrients that can help support lactation, hydrate and replenish your body, promote gut health, boost immunity, and support postpartum healing.
Q: Can I continue to enjoy my favorite snacks, or should I avoid them altogether?
Phyllis Choong: No worries—you can still enjoy your favorite snacks! But remember, don’t let them take the place of healthy foods.
Q: Please suggest dietary tips to support gradual and healthy postpartum weight loss.
Phyllis Choong:
- Eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy each day.
- Drink plenty of liquids, especially if you are breastfeeding (6-10 glasses daily).
- Eat protein-rich foods such as milk, cheese, yogurt, meat, fish, and beans to support postpartum recovery.
- Make half your plate fruits and vegetables for essential vitamins and minerals.
- Take prenatal vitamins if you are breastfeeding.
- Limit junk foods—occasional treats are fine, but they shouldn’t replace nutritious meals.
Q: What are the ideal portion sizes and meal frequency during the confinement period?
Phyllis Choong: There is no specific ideal portion for meals, as everyone is different. The key is to maintain a balanced diet. Some mothers crave five meals a day, including high tea and supper, while others prefer three main meals. Ensure your diet provides the necessary nutrition to support recovery.
Q: What are some time-saving meal prep ideas for working mums during the confinement period?
Phyllis Choong: For mums who need to work during confinement, easy-to-digest meals can help. Prepare ingredients the night before and pre-set a rice cooker or soup cooker to have a hot meal ready in the morning or noon. Slow cookers and pressure cookers are great for making nutritious meals with minimal effort. Try starting with millet porridge!
Q: How to manage common digestive issues, such as bloating or constipation during postpartum?
Phyllis Choong: You should eat a healthy diet rich in fibre! Consistently eating beans, bran cereals, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables can prevent and relieve postpartum constipation. Consider also eating prunes, which have a natural and mild laxative effect.
Q: What are lactation-friendly foods that will help milk production during the confinement period?
Phyllis Choong: Traditionally, unripe papaya and fish soup is taken as a confinement food as it is believed to enhance breast milk supply. Other food that can increase milk production include Vegetables. Whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa, barley). Proteins (eggs, Greek yogurt, tofu, chicken, low-mercury fish like salmon, lean beef). Healthy fats (nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado)
Q: Which is that one food item in particular that we should surely stay away from during postpartum?
Phyllis Choong: There are no particular food items need to surely stay away from postpartum. However if you are a breastfeeding mum, try not to consumes the following ingredients which will affect your breast milk production.
– Ginseng
– Chives
– Mugicha Roasted Barley Tea (Da-Mai-Cha)
– Gassy food
– Caffeine beverages
Q: Are there any specific cultural beliefs related to postpartum diet that should be taken into consideration?
Phyllis Choong: Most cultural beliefs that a postpartum mum should eat or have tonic/herbal soup as much as possible to recover their ‘Qi’. However, it is advice that to follow the sequence of TCM which is Qing (Clean), Pai (Exhaust), Tiao (Adjust), Bu (Replenish) to have the best benefits of confinement meals and herbal soup.
Q: How to modify postpartum diet if one has pre-existing health conditions, such as diabetes or blood pressure?
Phyllis Choong: For mummy had diabetes, it is very important to ensure their confinement meals are fit for them. Below are some tips on the meal preparation:
Dietary to follow for gestational diabetes:
- Cut sugar
- Low carbs intake & choose complex carbs
- Eat more protein
- Eat healthy fats like from olive oil, nuts, omega-3
- Load up fibre aka vegetables
- Food pairing i.e. eat a balanced diet comprise of vegetables, protein, fats and carbs during a meal. Never eat carbs on its own
- Eat small frequent meals
Confinement meal serving if you have Gestational Diabetes:
- Practice less sugar cooking
- Serve lean protein from fish, chicken, pork, tofu or egg for EACH meal
- Use olive oil & black sesame oil only in our cooking
- Serve vegetables for each meal
- Serve each meal which is balanced with appropriate amount of fibre, protein & carbs
Q: Do you recommend TCM or herbal tonics during confinement, also are there any simple ways to determine what is safe or unsafe?
Phyllis Choong: TCM or herbal tonics will brings benefits to most of the postpartum mum as long as the tonics are fit with their body needs. So it is advice that to consult the TCM physician during the pregnancy period to tailored customized the confinement herbal bundle for each individual mother-to-be as each bodies are unique. Most postpartum TCM are safe to consume but do not forget to mention if you had any allergic or G6PD to your TCM supplier when purchase TCM package.
Q: I follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. What are some plant-based sources of nutrients that I can include in my postpartum diet??
Phyllis Choong: Below are example of Five nutrition should include in confinement meal and how do we get Vegan food sources.
- Protein: Nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, tofu, seitan, tempeh, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, whole grains, and soymilk.
- Omega-3 fatty acids: Flax oil and ground flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, canola oil, soybean oil, algae foods fortified with DHA.
- Iron: Fortified breakfast cereals, lentils, tofu, kidney beans, chickpeas, dark leafy greens, spinach, raisins, and fortified grains.
- Calcium: Fortified plant-based milk alternatives, Tofu made with calcium sulfate, fortified breakfast cereals, dark leafy greens such as spinach and kale, chia seeds, pinto beans, broccoli, and figs.
- Zinc: Fortified breakfast cereals, baked beans, pumpkin seeds, cashews, chickpeas, oatmeal, almonds, kidney beans, green peas.
Q: With all the stress and anxiety after childbirth, it’s not always possible to follow a nutritional diet. How to cope with this?
Phyllis Choong: A nutrition diet during postpartum is very important. However stress and anxiety may cause to no appetite on consuming food. In this situation, the one who make the preparation of confinement meal act as important role. He/she can put some effort on the food presentation to let mummy have appetite and feel delight when saw the meals. The food preparer can also prepare the food in more creative way to let mummy easy to consume.
Q: How can family members, particularly husbands, actively participate in ensuring mother’s diet is followed consistently and healthily?
Phyllis Choong: You wife must very happy when she saw this! During confinement period, husband role is to accompany and comfort mummy’s mental health to release post partum stress. In confinement diet wise, husband can participate by ensure all food ingredients are fresh and well keeping, sufficient healthy snack are on stock for your craving wife, encourage your wife to drink more fluid and had nutrition meals to fast recover from postpartum. If you are a good cook, cook her favorites’ dishes to surprise her!
Q: I’ve heard about warming” and “cooling foods during confinement. How do I know which ones are suitable for me based on my body’s needs?
Phyllis Choong: As every body are unique, it is advice that to visit a TCM to check your body condition first. A TCM will advice the food ingredients/herbs to consume less or more based on your body condition. There are some confinement herbs provider in the market provide customise confinement herbs based on body condition which you can consider it.
Q: What can be done if a mother has lactose intolerance during confinement? Is there any suitable alternatives to ensure proper nutrition?
Phyllis Choong: A lactose-free meals at normal day are suitable to consume during postpartum period. The food preparer need to ensure the ingredients use are lactose-free or replace it with same nutrition ingredients etc replace fresh milk with soy bean milk.
Q: Can mothers who are breastfeeding (4mos onwards) follow the same postpartum diet, or are there any additional considerations for breastfeeding mothers?
Phyllis Choong: For breastfeeding mothers It is advice that to eat a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, grains, protein foods and diary each day. Example; protein foods 2-3 times per day such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts and seeds. Eat three servings of vegetables, including dark green and yellow vegetables per day. Eat two servings of fruit per day. Include whole grains such as whole wheat breads, pasta, cereal and oatmeal in your daily diet.
Q: My sister has certain dietary preferences and restrictions. How can we tailor the postpartum diet to suit her needs while ensuring it meets the necessary nutritional requirements?
Phyllis Choong: Hi as I cannot confirm what is your sister dietary preference so I share with you the confinement diet tips for diabetes mum.
Dietary to follow for gestational diabetes:
- Cut sugar
- Low carbs intake & choose complex carbs
- Eat more protein
- Eat healthy fats like from olive oil, nuts, omega-3
- Load up fibre aka vegetables
- Food pairing i.e. eat a balanced diet comprise of vegetables, protein, fats and carbs during a meal. Never eat carbs on its own
- Eat small frequent meals
Confinement meal serving if you have Gestational Diabetes:
- Practice less sugar cooking
- Serve lean protein from fish, chicken, pork, tofu or egg for EACH meal
- Use olive oil & black sesame oil only in our cooking
- Serve vegetables for each meal
- Serve each meal which is balanced with appropriate amount of fibre, protein & carbs
Q: We also have bigger kids at home, and it’s challenging to manage their meals along with the postpartum diet. Are there any strategies for juggling everyone’s food needs during this time?
Phyllis Choong: If you are planning to have modern confinement, this is not a problem as all! Some parents are worry that confinement foods are too ‘heaty’ for their kids as traditional practice of confinement foods are contains big amount of gingers and wines. Modern confinement foods are emphasis at balance of nutrition which is suitable to eat for all your family members including your bigger kids.
Q: Are there any foods or beverages that should be avoided during the confinement period, and what are the reasons behind these restrictions?
Phyllis Choong: Firstly, less consume of cold drinks. Cold drinks are believed to have a “cooling” effect which slows down recovery and may lead to poorer health. You are advised to take hot drinks and many traditional practices recommend drinking hot teas as part of the confinement diet.
Other than that, there are some ingredients need to be avoid too during confinement which included caffeine, spicy food, cold and raw foods. This one might be difficult for coffee lovers, although you may learned to limit your coffee intake during pregnancy. However, caffeine can get into your breast milk and irritate your baby’s digestive system as it is still weak. It can also elevate your heart rate and cause insomnia so it is recommended that you avoid coffee as much as possible while you are breastfeeding. It is even advised that you limit your chocolate intake as it contains caffeine.
Eating spicy food can cause discomfort to your baby while breastfeeding, although the level of discomfort can vary between baby and mother.
About Phyllis Choong
Phyllis Choong is a nutrition specialist with extensive experience in postpartum care and maternal nutrition. She is passionate about guiding new mothers in making informed dietary choices during confinement to support their recovery and well-being. Through her expertise, she helps mothers maintain a balanced and nourishing diet that aids postpartum healing and lactation.
Final Thoughts
Proper nutrition during confinement is essential for postpartum recovery and overall well-being. While dietary traditions and myths abound, making informed and balanced choices will ensure optimal healing. Whether you’re navigating food cravings, managing aversions, or seeking the best meal options, following expert advice can help make this transition smoother. Always consult a healthcare or nutrition specialist for personalized dietary recommendations tailored to your needs.
