The title said it all. No, it's not like I'm observing "The Confinement Period" now. Am only 33 weeks plus pregnant and OB just told me there'll be approximately another month to go before my baby enters the world. So yeah, that's when the confinement period begins... right till 40 days after delivery (this is what my mom and mom-in-law told me, so I guess that's Kadazandusun's after delivery treatment course).
And for this, my mom actually prepared for me a couple of things...
Traditional Chinese Medicine (note the HALAL logo) for "buang angin" and "pecah darah".
I think this is to help regulate the body temperature and blood circulation. I will be taking this a pair once a day during the confinement period.
And...
Fragrant dried leaves... They called it "tawa'oh" or something like that. This is the ancient Sabah herbal bath believed to help in cleansing and regulating the body systems. The leaves must be boiled in just enough the amount of water for two bath times each day. I will have to use this lukewarm herbal water to wet my body, then use my favorite body shower gel as usual, and then to rinse it off again with the fragrant herbal water... which also said to give 'soothing and calming' effect. My sister said my bath towel will be yellow-tinged though :)
Well, if my ancestors swore by it, by all means these preparations must have worked through the generations! No adverse effect recorded so far (according to hear-say), and as I do have ample faith on what my older generations said... then hey, why don't I use them too... After all, I do agree they only want the best for me. Having said this, being a veterinarian, of course I prefer conventional medicine and health science compared to TCM :).
Other than these two, I must also avoid windy places and cold areas. Rooms, floors, water and the air con should all be in normal room temperature. Hair-washing is totally prohibited throughout the confinement period. I must only eat 'drunken chicken soup' or 'sup ayam lihing' for the whole 40 days. This is actually chicken broth prepared with sweet rice wine in 1:1 ratio and some ginger.
Last but not least, I have to stay inside the house at all times. I reckon that's why it is called "The CONFINEMENT Period".
Healthy me, healthy baby and HAPPY HUBBY!