KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — The idea to set up Suri Confinement Care Centre in Bukit Mertajam, Penang came about when co-founder Syahirah saw for herself how taxing it is to care for a new mother during the post-delivery period. She wanted to lift the weight off her own mother, and realised her friends felt the same way. “We are more comfortable at home and we want someone to come take care of us because at that particular period of time, we feel very fragile and vulnerable.
But at the same time, we don’t want to trouble our mothers.” “So we thought why not make a centre where mothers can come and stay because not everyone — especially in Penang, most of our homes are either apartments or flats — we don’t have the convenience of space to have a stay-in confinement lady. “With this centre, we want to provide everything the mother needs so she only has to bring herself to the centre and focus on the ‘pantang’ process,” Syahirah, who gave the one-word name as she has another full-time job, told Malay Mail.
Pantang or berpantang is where a Muslim woman, after giving birth, typically undergoes certain rituals for 40 to 44 days. During this period, they follow certain restrictions on food and go through specific treatments to restore their body and health back to normal. “For first-time mothers, there is no problem but the challenge arises when a woman has more than one child and she may not want to be separated from her children.
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