Confinement caterers offer nutritious meals for new Singapore mummies

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With a new baby in the house, there is barely time to rest, much less cook. But more mothers are finding relief in an unexpected source - food caterers.

In particular, those that deliver special "confinement meals" to them every day.

Companies offering this service have been getting more customers in recent years, which they say is partly due to the shortage of confinement nannies.

Such meals are more nutritious and complex than everyday fare, to help mums rebuild their strength after giving birth.

For instance, the food is often infused with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and herbs and usually costs more than $1,000, or about $30 a meal. In contrast, daily delivery of regular meals, also known as "tingkat", can be as cheap as $100 a month for one person's share.

The confinement period, or "zuo yue zi" in Mandarin, is the first month after delivery. Many mothers would enlist the help of a confinement nanny, to cook and help care for the child.

But such nannies, usually from Malaysia, have been in short supply, said Mr Ong. Their services do not come cheap either, at $2,500 to $3,500 for a month.

While confinement meal providers expect business to rise in the coming years, they admit that a labour shortage as well as rising food and operating costs are hurdles. But they can look forward to support from mothers such as lecturer Charlene Wee.

"I could focus on nursing my premature son, who had to be fed every few hours," said Madam Wee, 34, who ordered from Thomson Confinement Food after giving birth to her second son last December. "It would have been too much pressure otherwise. I had to care for the older child too."