Ayurveda For Postpartum Care
I love India and it’s rich traditions. I’ve travelled there seven times, immersed myself in yoga, ashram life and treated the parasites I picked up there with Ayurvedic medicine. And after a particularly stressful time in my life I sought out panchakarma (a type of Ayurvedic regenerative detox) to help me heal. It was so effective to support my nervous system, remedy my anxiety and breathe vitality back into my life that I went back three years later to go a little deeper.
That time I was much more healthy and my experience was completely different. Instead of working on my nervous system and physical body the way it had before, it affected me more spiritually and psychologically. It gently picked at layers of my identity, stripping away anything that wasn’t really “me”. I re-lived memories, felt them deeply and learned things about myself and my coping methods that needed to change. It was profound, and yet far more gentle and easy to integrate than other things I’d done in my past, like plant medicines.
After these experiences I was determined to learn more and signed up for an Ayurvedic bodywork course taught by a man who studied with Osho in the 90’s and had been practicing for over 20 years. It was an intense month of learning and practice. I didn’t feel like pursuing massage full-time or licensing here in America, but the tools I learned are now woven inextricably into my birth and postpartum work. By using certain principles of Ayurveda as the backbone, I then fill that out with my knowledge of Western herbalism and nutrition.
This works for me, and I create protocols that are more tailored to a Western mentality while still honoring the Ayurvedic wisdom of looking into individual constitutions and creating rituals and routines. I also believe in using local plants that our bodies recognize as opposed to importing herbs from other countries. Ayurveda acknowledges that all of us are unique, and therefore there is not one size fits all approach for wellness. This is something I love about Ayurveda. Some people have more kapha, or the earth element, some are more pitta, or fiery, and others (like me) are vata, which means air, or ether. Of course within that there are combinations of these elements, or say you could be dominantly kapha with a vata imbalance. But you get the idea.
Ayurveda is more of a lifestyle than anything, and the word literally means “the science of living”. Outside of knowing your constitution and eating and living in a way that balances that, one of the most important things you can do from an Ayurvedic perspective is create a daily routine or dinacharya. This usually means sleeping and waking at the same time every day, eating at the same time each day, and following certain steps in the morning.
This might look like waking up, oil pulling, brushing your teeth and tongue scraping. Then using a neti pot, drinking hot water with lemon and ginger to wake up digestion, going to the bathroom, sitting down to meditate or do some breathwork, giving yourself a warm oil massage or abyhanga, and then showering. Ideally some exercise gets thrown in there somewhere, either a brisk walk, a little yoga or better yet a dance party in your living room (just me?!).
This may seem like a lot to do, but once you make this a priority instead of wasting an hour scrolling on your phone, you’ll see just how much you can get done when you’re being mindful of your time. A morning ritual like this can re-program your nervous system. This is because when our minds know what to expect, they can relax into the routine. And the body thrives with daily, consistent and basic self-care.
Ayurveda also focuses on hygiene, which boosts immunity and helps rid the body of any pathogens lurking around in the system that you may have picked up day to day out in the world. Outside of this, even doing some meditation and breathwork for 10-15 minutes every day can significantly reduce stress, feelings of depression and burnout.
So what does all of this have to do with postpartum? I love to know how things work, and the why behind what to do. So that’s why I tried to give you a little background before getting to Ayurveda for postpartum.
Postpartum is a time of excess vata. This means the air element is higher. From a physiological standpoint, the belly where baby once lived is now empty, or full of ether, which in itself aggravates vata. And the body is requires a lot of energy for healing. There is a ton of outer change going on too. As most new parents know, any routine prior to baby will get disrupted. So there’s really no dinacharya to keep you grounded. Then there is the sleep deprivation!
These all throw off the system, increase stress and nervous energy. Anxiety runs a little higher than normal, because there you are trying to keep this little being alive, making sure they eat enough, poop enough and gain weight appropriately. From a spiritual perspective, the mother has just opened up her energetic field in a big, big way. Anyone who has been with someone giving birth can see how they get into an altered state, almost going somewhere else, and that it can take a little while for them to fully “come back.”
There are some things you cannot avoid, like disrupting your daily self care routine, but what we aim to do for a postpartum mother is lower vata and increase the grounding kapha energy. We want to use Ayurveda for postpartum help her get back into her body, feel more relaxed and replenish any lost energy with quality food so she can absorb nutrients and re-build. While this could go very deep, there are few basic principles to remember.
Stay warm.
Keep your socks or slippers on, avoid drafts and cover your head with a scarf or blow dry your hair after showering.
Eat easy to digest foods.
Your body doesn’t need to do any extra work right now, so stick with foods that are gentle on the stomach and easy to assimilate. Stick with soups, stews, curries, kitchari and other well-cooked, and soft foods like watery oatmeal. Bone broth or veggie broth is great. Spicing food with a little ginger will help wake up digestion, as will incorporating healthy fats like ghee or coconut oil. Naturally sweet foods like dates, sweet potatoes and a dessert of rice pudding are also great. Avoid dry, crunchy foods, raw salads, and caffeine. Another perk of eating soft, high fiber foods with quality fat is that it will be easer to go to the bathroom! This can be really difficult and painful after birth, so anything that helps you poop is beneficial. Slippery elm bark is Western herb that is sweet, and delicious when added to watery oatmeal or rice puddings. It will also help things move along.
Drink warm herbal teas to support milk supply and help digestion.
Some great herbs to have at home are tulsi, fennel, turmeric, ginger and fenugreek. Fenugreek doens’t work well for everybody, especially if there is thyroid or blood sugar stuff going on. So watch what’s in your lactation teas! Some of my favorite nourishing western herbs post childbirth are red raspberry leaf, nettle, rose hips and chamomile. Red rasberry tones the uterus, nettle builds the blood and provides nutrition, rose hips are packed with vitamin C and lubricate the digestive system. Chamomile relaxes the nerves and can help with sleep. As always, talk to your health care provider about whether or not you should try these.
Drink lots of pure water.
Ideally spring water but if you don’t have access to this, just make sure that your water is free from chlorine and fluoride. Every time you sit down to breastfeed, drink a 16oz glass of water. Room temperature is best. You can also add a pinch of Himalayan sea salt and lemon to replenish electrolytes.
Abyhanga or self-massage.
One of the main principles of Ayurveda for postpartum or wellness in general is keeping yourself well-oiled and massaged. If you can hire someone else to do it, even better! Simply warm some sesame oil or olive oil in a small dish and apply it to your body in long, sweeping strokes starting at the feet and working your way up to the head. When you get there, rub it into your face, massage your temples and your scalp. This will calm vata, ease the nervous system and support lymphatic drainage. Make sure to massage the breasts as well to promote milk production, drain lymph and avoid blocked ducts.
Belly Binding.
This will help you feel secure and held in your belly after baby comes. It also helps release oxytocin, which is the bonding love hormone. I offer belly binding to my clients with a long piece of cloth for an additional charge, many doulas do. Or you can purchase one that wraps around your belly and attaches with velcro. It is easy to take on and off as needed, that way you can still wear it when you’re on your own. Never sleep with your belly bind on.
Invite over friends and family who feel comforting to you.
If they feel like “company” it’s a no, but if you can totally be yourself guests can be supportive. This is not necessarily a direct instruction from Ayurveda for postpartum healing, but I know from experience that emotional support is crucial at this time. This will have a trickle down effect on calming vata, because it eases stress, anxiety and increases oxytocin. If you don’t have friends or family around you during this time, set aside money and hire a doula or even a therapist or coach who can meet with you virtually and give you that camaraderie and peace of mind.
Sleep at every opportunity!!
Rest is so very important during this time and will help ground you back into your body post-birth. I encourage all mamas to leave the housework, cooking, and caring for siblings to their partners, friends, family or doulas.
Do Breathwork.
This is a big ayurveda for postpartum hack to move vata and ground you into your body. Make sure to do calming breathing exercises, not stimulating ones. Learn alternatve nasal breathing from a yoga teacher, pranayama or breathwork professional and pratice that for 10-15 minutes a day. This is crucial for relaxing the nervous system and you can even do it with baby on your chest!
As I said, I like to incorporate a bit of Western Herbalism with my ayurveda for postpartum principles. This means that following the oil massage or abyhanga I like to run a warm herbal bath that will help heal vaginal tissues and is grounding as well. I make sure to use herbs that are gentle enough so baby can accompany you if you wish.
Postpartum Herbal Bath
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup of rose petals
- ¼ cup of chamomile flowers
- ¼ cup of lavender flowers
- ¼ cup of calendula flowers
Instructions:
Boil 2 quarts of water on the stove and add the herbs. Take off the heat, cover and allow it to steep for 20 minutes. Then strain out the herbs and keep the liquid. You can add this to your peri-bottle to speed healing of the vaginal tissues. Better yet add the tea to a hot epsom salt bath with a few tablespoons of baking soda. Epsom salt will relax the muscles and increase magnesium levels in the body and baking soda is anti-bacterial and keeps the skin from getting too dry.
Postpartum Rice Pudding (Kheer) Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup of basmati rice
2 cups of purified water
8 cups of organic milk or coconut milk
3 tbs ghee
½ cup of blackstrap molasses or maple syrup
8 cardamom pods
¼ cup of cashews (optional)
cinnamon to taste
Instructions:
Clean the rice and cook it in water as usual.
When rice is cooked add in the milk, ghee and cardamom and bring these to a boil, stirring frequently.
Lower the temperature to medium heat and allow it to simmer for 1-3 hours.
Stir in the molasses or maple syrup as well as cashews.
When serving you can add extra ghee or coconut oil as well as cinnamon to taste.
Golden Milk
1 cup of organic milk or coconut milk
1 tsp ghee
1 tsp of ground turmeric
¼ tsp of cinnamon
¼ tsp of ground ginger
pinch of black pepper
1 tsp of maple syrup or turbinado sugar
Instructions:
Heat the milk over the stove and add all ingredients, allowing them to simmer for a few minutes. Pour it into a blender for a creamy frothy tea.
Nursing Tea
2 cups of purified water
1 tsp of fenugreek seeds
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1 tbs red raspberry leaf or tulsi
½ tbs chamomile
Instructions:
Add the fennel and fenugreek to boiling water and allow it to simmer on medium for 10 minutes. Take off the heat, stir in chamomile and red raspberry leaf, cover and allow it to brew for another ten minutes. Enjoy warm.
The herbs in this tea will help produce milk, ease your diestive system as well as baby’s and assist the uterus in coming back into place. You can either drink the tea hot, or refrigerate it and add some to your room temperature water to sip throughout the day. Again, if you have blood sugar or thyroid issues, skip the fenugreek.
I hope I’ve given you a good idea about how ayurveda and postpartum fit together. There are many ways to help make the postpartum time more nourishing and easeful, but preparing ahead, creating a plan and being strict in your boundaries about enforcing that plan are crucial. This is not a time to sacrifice your well being, and when you are healthy and supported, you will be a better parent to your child and more adept at meeting their needs.
If you are curious about how I can support you, either virtually or in person, click the buttom below and fill out a contact form!