So here's an interesting pic from Penang. Doesn't she look pretty happy to be confined?
Your first guess (in good faith) is probably that it's an ad for day-care for babies and kids. Nope. Now you might be thinking, "oh my gawd... it's true... Asians think confining women and not letting them into the streets is a good thing." Maybe. Sort of. Actually, it's an ad for these care facilities for recent mothers and their babies. Chinese Malaysians generally practice a period of "confinement" (30 days? 40 days?) for recent mothers and babies where extra, special care is required for both. For the mothers, it means having all their (special diet) meals prepared and served, special baths and they are not to engage in any activities deemed to be detrimental to their health. The special diet consists of nutritious food (deemed nutritious by traditional Chinese medical system) and food/beverage that expels the "wind" women who have just given birth are believed to have an excess of. This "wind" is not quite gas... and not quite the idea of qi/chi/prana. It's something in between and neither. Care of the babies also include teaching mothers baby care. In the past, families employ "confinement ladies" to come to their homes and stay there for the entire period, taking care of the mother and child. My mom had one when I was born. These days, many people opt for the "confinement centers" as it has become too expensive to hire private care-providers. As the ad indicates, it costs somewhere in the MY$2000 (US$1 = MY$ 3.40) range to be at a confinement center whereas hiring a private care-provider can cost upwards MY$8000.
