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Why Ayurvedic postpartum doula care can change your life.

Ayurvedic Postpartum care

As the last trimesters of pregnancy begin to approach, your body may be saying let’s have this baby already. But there is something magical that happens in those final days and weeks leading up to labor and delivery. A period of nesting occurs naturally in our bodies to prepare for your arrival.

For most of us, in Western society, nesting includes laundering your clothes, and preparing your room, we have celebrations to shower mama with booties and blankets. However, in these last months, this is where the intention and visualization of preparing for life with a baby and a successful postpartum should happen.

According to text in the Inner Sun&Moon school for Ayurvedic postpartum doula care it states that “Everything in her life needs to be restructured after giving birth. Her body needs to physically restructure after pregnancy & birth, her mind/emotions/spirit are completely changed by the journey of labor & birth along with the depth of love she feels for her newborn, her relationship with her partner and with herself are inevitably different now that there is a new baby, her routine and schedule are different now. Nearly every aspect of her life is in the process of restructuring. For all these reasons, a rare opening occurs in her life where she can call in any reality she wants. These first 42 days after birth are considered a SACRED WINDOW in her life. Ayurveda says what happens during these 42 days affects her health, well-being, and ability to mother & partner for the next 42 years. This is a crossroad in her life. She can either take the path of deep rejuvenation or the path of deep depletion. Everything she does, everything she eats, etc. during these 42 days forms the foundation of what her next 42 years will look like, what her role as a mother will look like, what her relationship with her partner will look like, and what her health will be like. Ayurveda calls this a KAYA KALPA window.”

When we enter into the postpartum period with a plan and intention to honor the process of healing we are shifting into a “wise woman” state who understands that this window is here as a vehicle to facilitate deep change. For me, this deep change was a Mother, daughter wound that arose during postpartum rooted in feelings of lack, vulnerability, and fear.

Undergoing these transformative periods unprepared can leave us feeling a deep sense of instability and imbalances that fester for years to come. However, if we can adapt the pillars of time-tested traditions, like in Ayurdoula postpartum care we can not only heal old cycles of trauma and may also prevent them.

Many mothers, like myself when left unattended during postpartum end up having imbalances such as depletion, anxiety, resentment, hair loss, low milk production, insomnia, issues with losing baby weight, and more.

When I began learning about the benefits of Ayurvedic postpartum doula care, using them on myself and then with clients the results were profound.

In my own experience, It was almost as if those close to me looked at me like I was crazy and it was “normal” to suffer. This did not feel right or “normal” to me. I was weak, pale, exhausted, short-tempered, and frustrated.

When it came to the women I began to help it was a deep sense of trust and an “I got your back, it's okay to close your eyes” feeling that I saw in my client’s eyes. After leaving the hospital and coming home to my care, left one mom in tears that she finally could let go and feel safe. Knowing she was going to be taken care of.

If we can give ourselves as women and mothers a few months to feel deeply cared for through nourishing food, rest, massage, and the teachings of love through self-care and someone to hold our hand, and take the burdens of day-to-day off our shoulders we create a shift in ourselves, our family dynamic and our community.

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Photo Credit: Laura Rowe photography @_laurarowe_