Prior to giving birth to my daughter, I had a really beautiful, soft image of the us hanging out in bed together taking the time to get to know each other and me adjusting to my new role as a mom. The image had me, pulling long tendrils of my hair aside so I could stare at my sweet baby breastfeeding perfectly from day one. My post-baby body would be soft and beautiful and I would be forgiving of it, letting it take as long as it needed to come back to itself.
If I’m honest, while I did do all of those things, it wasn’t without difficulty. My body was raw with birth. My spirit was scattered and those first days were ‘brutiful’, a term coined by Glennon Doyle that combines the words brutal and beautiful. I/we did our best to soak up those first moments with each other and we made it, but looking back there is much I wish I knew before welcoming my daughter earthside.
Within a week of birth, there were sneaky aches in my joints that seemed to come from nowhere, I had difficulty breastfeeding and there was anxiety over the responsibility of keeping my little one alive… of course I could come up with more disharmonies, but this article isn’t about frightening a parent to be, it’s about figuring out ways to nurture a parent so they can nourish their child.
In Chinese medicine we look at the health of the parent along with the health of the baby in the first month postpartum. "Sitting in” postpartum is the term that encompasses being looked after with whole foods for recovery, adequate rest, and limited socialisation for 40 days post birth. When I was a birth doula, we had a similar interest in the postpartum period. I would invite my new moms to spend five days in bed at home, five days in the bedroom on or near the bed, and five days more days in the house. There are so many hormones at play during this time, the body needs rest to integrate everything and learn it's new normal. It’s really about time. Time to let the body absorb what’s happened so it can heal and come back to itself. Time to get to know your baby, and learn their needs and cues. Dedicated time, to then emerge new and whole on the other side of the "fourth trimester".
There are many benefits to receiving acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in those first few weeks postpartum. ‘Warming’ treatments, 1-2 weeks post birth will deeply replenish you, softening the recovery and improving your general sense of well-being. In the weeks following a Mother Warming, acupuncture and Chinese herbs are then used to support breastfeeding, joint pain, caesearean section recovery, and mastitis. These treatments will continue to nourish the mother by calming the central nervous system and in doing so will support those with fatigue, anxiety, feelings of overwhelm, and depression.
While you are preparing for your babe to arrive, take a few minutes to prepare for your postpartum time. As a Dr of Chinese medicine, I know now what I wish I knew then and it is my pleasure to be able to nourish you so that you can feel your best and care for your little one.
xx, Charlie