Remember back in the old golden days when we didn’t have taps or sanitized water. Since then, women had a higher risk of contracting diseases from the unsanitized water. The sad part is that the infections would have significant consequences on their overall well-being and would even put them at risk of infertility.
Ancient medicine practitioners found a way of cleansing the water with herbs to make it safe for bathing. The practice continues to play a massive role in the recovery of a new mother after childbirth. What herbs can you use to prepare a herbal bath, and how should you go about it?
Ingredients for a confinement herbal bath
Your confinement herbal bath will only be therapeutic if you use the right ingredients. It’s important to source them based on your culture or recommendations from your confinement lady. Outlined below are the typical ingredients you can use in a herbal bath:
- Orientvine stem (Caulis sinomeni)
- Been
- Lemongrass
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Pomelo skin
- European verbena (Herba verbenae)
- Motherwort herb (Leonurus cardiaca)
- Chuan xin lian (Andrographis paniculata)
- She cao (Clinacanthus nutans)
- Argy wormwood leaf (Artemesia argi)
- Bu bu grass (Phyalis angulata)
- Da feng ai (Blumea balsamifera)
Preparing the herbal bath: An overview
The first step involves gathering the herbs for your confinement herbal bath in a bowl. You can put several herbs together in the bowl and grind them into finer particles. Adding essential oil and sea salt will boost the therapeutic properties of the herbs. Consider dropping the essential oils in sea salt for them to mix better.
Directions
- Boil water and then add the mixture to it
- Cover the solution and allow it to simmer for more than 20 minutes
- Use a cheesecloth, a tea strainer, or a clean shirt to strain the solution.
- Mix the strained liquid with warm bathing water
Once your herbal bath is ready, it’s time to dive in and enjoy its healing properties. Ensure that the temperature of the herbal bath is ideal for your body. Soak your body in the solution for more than 20 minutes to fully enjoy the bath.
What if you can’t prepare a confinement herbal bath on your own?
Many new mothers consider buying pre-packaged herbs or herbal bath sets, which are easy to use. You can find these products from confinement service centers or traditional wellness shops. The good thing about buying pre-packaged herbal bath sets is that they mix easily with warm water, allowing you to enjoy a therapeutic bath in a short time.
Confinement care centers offer herbal bath packages to their customers to promote wellness and postnatal recovery. If you check into one, you may receive dietary supplements, herbal products, and postnatal care. Their services adhere to the practices and rituals of the Chinese confinement schedule, which takes 44 days.
At an extra fee, the confinement agency will assign a urut lady to help you adopt the traditional confinement practices. You’ll also receive a postnatal massage to relieve pain and relax your body. Either way, your postnatal recovery depends on how well you stick to the confinement rules and restrictions.
What are the benefits of a confinement herbal bath?
A confinement herbal bath helps strengthen the joints and muscles while eliminating ‘wind’ from the body. It also boosts blood circulation and helps relieve pains and mild swelling from childbirth. Taking a herbal bath is a convenient way of relaxing and freshening up as you spend your confinement period.
Though the confinement traditions advise new mothers against taking a bath, it’s important to take one blended with herbs. New mothers are prone to contagious skin infections that get worse when they fail to take a bath. They also risk passing the infection to their newborn babies.
Are you looking for a confinement lady?
The Confinement Lady Singapore works as an organization targeting new mothers who need assistance as they go through the confinement period. Our company comprises of highly skilled nannies who are always on call when you need them. They can help look after your baby and prepare food while you get the much-needed rest.
All of our nannies have undergone the mandatory Covid19 tests and can adapt to your postnatal recovery needs. Our landlines are open if you need more information on how to hire one. Our representative will be more than willing to help you.