A Varied and Balanced Diet
Continue the good habits of your pregnancy. This is important, especially for breastfeeding mums. To restore your health and keep your baby growing strong, get quality protein from fish, poultry, red meat as well as dairy and bean products. Also include cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as foods rich in calcium and iron in your diet. Finally, your diet should have adequate fibre as well as a good balance of meat and vegetables.

Snacks Between Meals
When your body is producing breastmilk, you may feel more hungry than usual. So some nutritious snacks such as nuts, eggs or fruits between normal meals are alright.

Nourishing Soups and Broths
Traditional Chinese medicine puts great stock in the healing and nourishing properties of specially-prepared broths and soups. Fish or meat soup, it is said, can help a new mum produce more breastmilk. As such, many new mums in ethnic Chinese families are served pork leg soup with groundnuts, carp soup with bean sprouts, fish and papaya soup as well as chicken soup and bone broth soup.

New mums may also be advised by experts in Chinese medicine to take herbal soups brewed from combinations of some common plants and herbs which are fundamental to traditional Chinese medicine. These include:

• Chinese Angelica root or Angelica sinensis (dang-gui or dong quai);
• Szechuan Lovage root or Ligusticum wallichii (chuanxiong), a flowering plant in the carrot family;
• peach kernel or Semen Persicae (tao-ren); dried ginger;
• and, licorice root or Glycyrrhiza uralensis (gan-cao).

The main goals of these soups are to improve or restore blood flow, and treat afterbirth symptoms such as prolonged discharge (lochia) and tummy ache.

Stay Hydrated
During the confinement period, you will sweat a lot as this is the time when your body metabolism is very high. Drink more water to prevent dehydration. This will also help you produce more breastmilk. About eight to 12 glasses of cooled, boiled water every day should be sufficient. Of course, you can also opt for other nourishing liquids such as milk, soya bean drink or soya milk, and soups.

As a new mother, you may be so focused on your baby that you forget about drinking water until you feel very thirsty. Try placing a glass or bottle of cooled boiled water near your bed as a reminder.

If you took vitamin supplements during your pregnancy, you can now stop. However, you may need iron supplements instead as many new mothers are deficient in iron. The process of birth can cause you to lose a lot of blood. Before your discharge from hospital, ask your doctor about iron supplements.

However, do remember that supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet. The best way to regain your health and well-being is to eat a balanced and varied diet during confinement.