Lament: Of being a Chinese mom

Post-pregnancy care options are getting my knickers in a twist, so to speak.

I am not a very traditional Chinese person - and I do have Asian, Chinese-but-Westernised friends who did not go through the traditional confinement month after they gave birth to their precious bundles. They just ate a "Western" post-pregnancy diet, took showers and tended to their babies from the very day they delivered (no confinement nannies), lived a healthy lifestyle and are doing pretty fine (so are their children). Since I was trained in "Western" or evidence-based medicine myself, I have never been particularly attracted to the idea of confinement and could do without it.

However, I have another category of friends who did go through the traditional confinement month - and so, testify to its unparalleled excellence in promoting recuperation from the very draining labour which all noble mothers must brave for the sake of bringing their babies into our world. I must say that it sounds very impressive - and I feel the terrible pressure to conform. After all, I, like any first-time mother-to-be, am anxious to get off on the right foot - both for myself and for my baby. For my hubby too. However, the cost of having a confinement nanny in our home is too high for my liking/budget; I am not comfortable at all with the idea of strangers invading my private space, even good ones; my MIL may be able to cook confinement food but has zero confidence in handling babies; and I am worried that I won't be allowed to shower (terrifies the OCD in me - ugggghhhh) or get out of my own house or drink plain water (I heard that you can only drink boiled dates water or something like that). 

Thanks to the kind advice of my pro-confinement friends, I am in a dilemma. Would I be that disadvantaged if I didn't go through confinement? Would I be able to handle the baby by myself after the delivery? What if I could? Can I guarantee that I will feed myself well without a confinement nanny's cooking? 

Would I be a bad Chinese mom if I didn't get us a confinement nanny?

Well, I have got to decide soon, before the confinement nannies are fully-booked for next year. Deciding is a huge responsibility indeed. And I am terribly indecisive. Helppppp!!!

In times such as this, I miss my own mom. *cries*

Remind me again, why am I Chinese and why am I in Malaysia? :( Why not back in the UK, where nobody cares if you've got a confinement nanny or not?