My MIL told me to forget about taking a shower or washing my hair one month after giving birth or I will be plagued by headaches and rheumatism for the rest of my life. Any truth to this?

I couldn't even resist not to take a bath for 24 hours! I beg my nurse to let me shower 2 hours after giving birth but they said to wait until overnight :) My opinion, shower is good for your sanitary, if you afraid of any headaches or rheumatism, control the heat. You can shower with warm water or you can simply take a bath without wash your hair (or maybe not doing it every time you shower. 3 times a week might be good)

It's a myth. I took shower during confinement and so far haven't feel any side effects yet. Just make sure you blow dry your hair and wipe body and of course avoid direct wind blowing on you after bath to prevent catching cold. If you are sick during confinement you will take longer time to recover as the immune system is weaker during childbirth recuperation. Take a warm drink after bath will make you feel better too.

This is a myth. Pls shower. Practising good personal hygiene is important if you’re breastfeeding your child. This also reduces risk of skin and wound infections. Plus, it ensures that your family and visitors will find you more bearable! To help expel “wind” in your body, you can bathe in lukewarm water that has been boiled with old ginger.

I take at least 3-5 showers a day in this weather, I can't imagine not being able to shower or wash my hair during confinement. Everytime someone tells me that. My response was, "not Gg to happen to me", ESP when I am planning to breast feed, I have to be clean at all times. However, I will take extra care to keep dry and avoid catching a cold.

Okay, sorry, but that sounds like total nonsense. I showered the morning after giving birth in the ward and continued my showers throughout confinement. Sometimes I even took two showers a day. As long as you use warm water and wipe yourself dry immediately, it's not a problem at all.

This practice might have made sense in the past, when new mums didn’t have the luxury of taking a warm bath, or they lived in an environment which is cold or chilly. These days, even TCM experts don’t recommend this practice in hot and humid Singapore.

Believe it or not I obeyed my confinement nanny and did not bathe for 2 weeks. I could only wipe my body. After the first shower I enjoyed it so much that I continued with it. Maybe 20 years later we will be able to answer your question!

Up to today there isn't really a proof to that. I guess all the rheumatism is more likely to be caused by aging therefore please do take showers if you are planning to breastfeed.

Take warm showers and towel dry quickly if you are worried about catching a cold. Ensure that your wound, especially if you’ve had a C-section, is properly dried after bathing.

It's good to maintain hygiene and I don't know how we can do this in Singapore weather.. If you are worried about rheumatism, consult a Tcm. They won't tell u not to shower