A Comparison of Practices During the Confinement Period among Chinese, Malay, and Indian Mothers in Singapore

Abstract

Most Singapore mothers follow confinement practices, but the three Asian ethnic groups differed in specific confinement practices. Future studies should examine whether ethnic differences persist in later childrearing practices.

Traditional and Complementary Medicine Use During Postpartum Period: A Cross-Sectional Analysis at a Rural, Public Maternal and Child Health Clinic in West Malaysia

“…The TCM of choice among this population was overwhelmingly massage. This is not surprising because the majority of the participants were Malay, and traditional Malay massage is considered to be an important part of the care regimen during the confinement period [21]; it is similar to the practice of TCM in Singapore [25].…”

Traditional and Complementary Medicine Use During Postpartum Period: A Cross-Sectional Analysis at a Rural, Public Maternal and Child Health Clinic in West Malaysia

“…The TCM of choice among this population was overwhelmingly massage. This is not surprising because the majority of the participants were Malay, and traditional Malay massage is considered to be an important part of the care regimen during the confinement period [21]; it is similar to the practice of TCM in Singapore [25].…”

A Comparison of Breastfeeding Experiences between Mothers Spending the Traditional Chinese Confinement Period in a Confinement Centre or at Home

“…CCs was most likely due to the cultural emphasis on the need for postnatal mothers to rest during the confinement period (4,7,9).We found some CCs that discouraged mothers from rooming-in with their babies at night and this is worrying because the baby's early feeding cues could easily be missed, leading to a reduction inbreastfeeding frequency and hence the amount of breast milk a mother produces.Sleeping in the same room as the baby or 24-hour rooming-in is crucial for night feeds, which is important for the establishment and continuation of breastfeeding (3) We also found that many mothers had restricted opportunities to access their babies both during the day and night, and this could explain why significantly more mothers in CCsonly fed expressed breast milk. With a growing body of evidence that feeding expressed breast milk might be different from feeding at the breast, this is an important finding.…”

Cradling disparities: A descriptive qualitative study of maternal experiences of mothers from low‐socioeconomic status in the first month postpartum

“…Confinement is a set of practices that most Asian mothers follow to promote recovery from pregnancy and childbirth. These practices include prolonged rest at home, special diets and abstinence from bathing and massages (Fok et al., 2016; Tan et al., 2022).…”

Traditional and Complementary Medicine Use During Postpartum Period: A Cross-Sectional Analysis at a Rural, Public Maternal and Child Health Clinic in West Malaysia

“…The TCM of choice among this population was overwhelmingly massage. This is not surprising because the majority of the participants were Malay, and traditional Malay massage is considered to be an important part of the care regimen during the confinement period [21]; it is similar to the practice of TCM in Singapore [25].…”

A Comparison of Breastfeeding Experiences between Mothers Spending the Traditional Chinese Confinement Period in a Confinement Centre or at Home

“…CCs was most likely due to the cultural emphasis on the need for postnatal mothers to rest during the confinement period (4,7,9).We found some CCs that discouraged mothers from rooming-in with their babies at night and this is worrying because the baby's early feeding cues could easily be missed, leading to a reduction inbreastfeeding frequency and hence the amount of breast milk a mother produces.Sleeping in the same room as the baby or 24-hour rooming-in is crucial for night feeds, which is important for the establishment and continuation of breastfeeding (3) We also found that many mothers had restricted opportunities to access their babies both during the day and night, and this could explain why significantly more mothers in CCsonly fed expressed breast milk. With a growing body of evidence that feeding expressed breast milk might be different from feeding at the breast, this is an important finding.…”

Cradling disparities: A descriptive qualitative study of maternal experiences of mothers from low‐socioeconomic status in the first month postpartum

“…Confinement is a set of practices that most Asian mothers follow to promote recovery from pregnancy and childbirth. These practices include prolonged rest at home, special diets and abstinence from bathing and massages (Fok et al., 2016; Tan et al., 2022).…”

Traditional and Complementary Medicine Use During Postpartum Period: A Cross-Sectional Analysis at a Rural, Public Maternal and Child Health Clinic in West Malaysia

“…The TCM of choice among this population was overwhelmingly massage. This is not surprising because the majority of the participants were Malay, and traditional Malay massage is considered to be an important part of the care regimen during the confinement period [21]; it is similar to the practice of TCM in Singapore [25].…”

A Comparison of Breastfeeding Experiences between Mothers Spending the Traditional Chinese Confinement Period in a Confinement Centre or at Home

“…CCs was most likely due to the cultural emphasis on the need for postnatal mothers to rest during the confinement period (4,7,9).We found some CCs that discouraged mothers from rooming-in with their babies at night and this is worrying because the baby's early feeding cues could easily be missed, leading to a reduction inbreastfeeding frequency and hence the amount of breast milk a mother produces.Sleeping in the same room as the baby or 24-hour rooming-in is crucial for night feeds, which is important for the establishment and continuation of breastfeeding (3) We also found that many mothers had restricted opportunities to access their babies both during the day and night, and this could explain why significantly more mothers in CCsonly fed expressed breast milk. With a growing body of evidence that feeding expressed breast milk might be different from feeding at the breast, this is an important finding.…”

Cradling disparities: A descriptive qualitative study of maternal experiences of mothers from low‐socioeconomic status in the first month postpartum

“…Confinement is a set of practices that most Asian mothers follow to promote recovery from pregnancy and childbirth. These practices include prolonged rest at home, special diets and abstinence from bathing and massages (Fok et al., 2016; Tan et al., 2022).…”