How to Plan Your Confinement Meals

The confinement period is the most crucial time for recuperating from the journey of carrying a human inside you for nine months and then giving birth to him or her. When it comes to confinement, you know for sure that there are many aspects to consider, such as resting, nutrition, exercise, and even baby care. Well, to lift some burden off your shoulders, we’re here to cover one of those things—nutrition.

Knowing how to plan your confinement meals will be a breeze once you’ve gotten these 3 aspects below sorted.

How Much to Eat

During pregnancy, you’re eating for two. This continues after giving birth as your diet will affect your breast milk for your newborn, too. Now, the normal calorie intake for an adult woman is 1,800 to 2,200 a day. And you can portion your meals in accordance with My Healthy Plate, a guide created by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board, which is:-

• a quarter plate of whole grains
• a quarter plate of protein
• a half plate of fruits and vegetables

However, things are different if you are breastfeeding, as you are essentially eating for two once again. In this case, eating an additional 500 calories would help keep your energy levels up and get you sufficient nutrients.

What to Eat

Since My Healthy Plate has provided a guide, you already have a general idea of what you should be eating.

But that is not enough.

A woman who has just given birth has compromised health and might perhaps experience some nutrient deficiency, so certain nutrients are especially needed during this time of recovery. What’s more, these nutrients are essential for the newborn’s growth as well, and they get the nutritional benefits through breast milk, which is all the more reason to consume these nutrients.

Here is a little guide.

That is not to say that these are the only ones you should focus on. A little bit of everything is the way to go to get a balanced diet. Do not only eat certain foods while avoiding others like the plague. The best way to know if you are deficient in any nutrient would be to consult a dietitian or doctor. Otherwise, this is just a general guide.

On the traditional side, herbs are customary and a must in confinement. The Chinese believe in eating ‘healthier’ foods with ingredients like ginger, garlic, rice wine, and sesame oil. This is because they believe that mothers’ ‘qi’ or the balance between yin and yang, is affected during and after pregnancy, and these foods can improve the energy flow of the body and immune system. Some examples would be herbal soup for confinement, pig trotter vinegar, and sesame chicken.

What to Include

Where do you begin? Unlike a certain garment, no diet is ‘one-size-fits-all’ for new mothers. You have to identify your concerns and which aspects you think could improve the most if you add this and that into your diet. Hence, this article is not meant to create a diet for you but rather to provide you with a guide that you could refer to. If this guide sounds like exactly what you need, then you may follow it. If your concerns are not similar to the ones mentioned below, you can tweak the diet as you like.

For instance, one aspect of our recommendation may discuss increasing milk supply. Surely, if you are producing too much milk, you would want to reduce the food mentioned. As stated before, tweak accordingly. On that note, here are several types of food that you should pile up your plate with every day throughout your postnatal life!

Grains

Eat whole grains rather than refined ones. Whole grains are packed with nutrients like protein, fibre, antioxidants, and others that are great for reducing the risk of heart diseases. Avoid refined grains like white rice, white flour, and white pasta – basically anything white – because they have generally been stripped of their nutrient value and contain pretty much zero vitamins, minerals, or fats to speak of. Therefore, stick with whole grains like whole-wheat bread and whole-grain pasta, brown rice, corn, and quinoa. Some grains like bread, rice, and pasta are great sources of carbs that can fuel your energy to recover from childbirth and nurse your baby. Many healthier carbs substitutes for plain white rice are high in fibre, protein and have a low glycemic index (able to reduce your blood sugar levels). Pick the ones that will take longer to digest so you can feel full longer.

Fruits & vegetables

It goes without saying that fruit and vegetables will do wonders for your body. The content of vitamins and minerals in them is aplenty. They are an excellent source of dietary fibre that helps maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems. It lowers the blood cholesterol levels, thus reducing the risk of diabetes. Simply by loading your plate with these two, you can see impressive results such as improved skin condition and reduced body pains. See, there is a solid reason why we used to be constantly nagged by our mothers to ‘finish the greens’, just as our mothers used to be nagged by theirs.

Protein

Piling up on protein is important to repair and build tissues, which a new mother who has gone through childbirth will desperately need. Due to contraction and labour, you may have torn some tissues. If you want to be cautious, you can always go for lean meats to ensure you will not be adding extra fats to your meals. Plus, your breastfed baby requires a lot of protein to grow as well, so keep their needs in mind when planning your diet. Eat high-quality sources of protein like fish and chicken, unsweetened dairy products, and eggs. Dairy products are also high in calcium – you just have to choose ones that are fat-free or at least low in fat. In comparison to others, protein is possibly one type of nutrient that you will never get tired of the sources because there are so many options available. Hence, have fun with it and vary your protein routine. You do not have to pick meat every single day. Try switching things up every once in a while and add more nuts, seeds, peas, and beans.

Iron and Vitamin C

These two need to be lumped together because they work for quite similar purposes. Iron carries oxygen-carrying blood cells throughout your body. Vitamin C helps ensure these can be absorbed from all the parts that need these oxygen-carrying blood cells. To put it simply, iron and vitamin C are both essential elements that will help in blood production and blood absorption, respectively.

The body cannot make iron on its own, but it needs a lot of it, so you get it from foods. It is not uncommon for a new mother to be diagnosed with iron deficiency, and that is when doctors would suggest that you eat more iron-rich food. Luckily, iron can be found in various foods. Some animal-based ones are meat, fish, and poultry. Others that are plant-based can be green vegetables, nuts and beans, and dried fruit. Compared to the plant-based ones, the animal-based ones are easier to be absorbed by the body. If you breastfeed, that is all the more reason to fill your body with iron-rich food. Usually, for the first six months of their life, a newborn only receives iron from the mother’s breast milk.

So, do not deprive yourself of iron so you will not have to consume any iron supplements.

Meanwhile, for vitamin C, there are a lot of sweet fruits and vegetables to help you increase your iron levels. Citrus fruit is not recommended yet in case it can potentially irritate your stomach. If you are certain you will be fine, you may proceed. If your diet includes enough servings of fruits and vegetables every day, taking a vitamin C supplement may not be necessary. There are several signs of vitamin C deficiency, like slow-healing wounds, painful joints, and dry, rough skin, which indicate that you may have to take the supplement anyway. Of course, it is best to leave it to your doctor to help you with that decision. Some of the best (i.e. tastiest) vitamin C foods include papaya, tomatoes, and broccoli.

Milk-booster

Galactagogues are substances that naturally promote breast milk production. Often taken in supplement form or teas, they can also be deliciously prepared foods. If you do not face this problem, or if you, in fact, face the opposite of this, as in producing an abundance of milk, you may want to avoid the items mentioned here. Some of the best lactation-boosting foods are oatmeal, garlic, barley, and papaya.

What to Avoid

Although there is no hard and fast rule about what foods to avoid during confinement, some are recommended to be taken less or only on occasion.

• Chocolate – Not to entirely avoid, but dark chocolate once in a while is alright
• Caffeine – Found in tea, coffee, and carbonated drinks, limiting your intake would be ideal
• Alcohol – Recommended to avoid, but there are some exceptions, like rice wine or Bénédictine D.O.M used for cooking (best to boil away the alcohol before consumption)

Rather than avoiding food, it is wiser to opt for healthier options like whole grains instead of white grains or fruits, seeds, and nuts as snacks instead of fried food. This way, you get your fill, you satisfy any cravings, and you get great nutrition.

Aside from confinement meals, it is traditionally advised to have confinement herbal baths in Singapore. A confinement herbal package could provide a whole month’s worth of herbal bath supplies. Here at PEM Confinement Nanny Agency, we offer confinement herbal packages for red date tea and confinement soups, both of which are amazing for blood circulation and general health.

Not only that, our nannies are trained and experienced in preparing various confinement foods. So, if you find it a hassle to plan your confinement meals, our nannies can do it for you. All you have to do is head on over to our website, and our services are just a click away.