Your Golden Month: Your Best Health Yet Postpartum
Did you know that in Chinese medicine we can actually improve our health postpartum? Our body is primed to heal after birth, it wants to be stronger and healthier than ever before!
Did you know that in Chinese medicine we can actually improve our health postpartum? Birth might deplete us, but we can choose to become even healthier than we were before baby.
Our body is primed to heal after birth, it wants to be stronger and healthier than ever before! Being a mom is a demanding and extremely important job, so let’s not take this lightly. It’s the “hardest job I ever loved” as they say.
So what’s this time period after birth exactly? Well, it’s called the “Golden month” in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and it’s a time ripe with opportunity.
The golden month is a period of time that lasts approximately 40 days
How we nurture and heal ourselves in this time period influences the rest of our lives. If we nourish ourselves properly and take precautions not to deplete fluids and overburden the kidneys, we gain short and long term benefits.
Short-term we are less likely to suffer from mood swings, anxiety, hair loss and low milk supply.
Long-term we can enter into menopause with ease; without suffering from symptoms like hot flashes or uncontrolled bleeding. Sound good?
Seven Ways to Supercharge Your Healing in the Golden Month
The golden month is a period of time that lasts approximately 40 days, but can be longer if you have health complications. During these 40 days you must give yourself the rest and other ingredients necessary to heal. Here are 7 specific ways to heal yourself postpartum so you can be stronger and healthier than before.
- Keep it warm: In the golden month it’s necessary to go easy on the digestive system. In Chinese medicine we do this by eating warm, cooked foods. This is a way to add heat to our digestive process, which allows our body to give more energy to the important healing that is taking place. Choose warming spices that aid in digestion like ginger, turmeric and cinnamon. Keep in mind that warming is different than spicy, though.
- Make fancy drinks: Find some electrolyte powder you like, or make your own blend! A basic way to make some at home is to add a pinch of high quality salt, a big squeeze of lemon and a drop of stevia or teaspoon of maple syrup. You can also make switchel (with apple cider vinegar) on a hot summer day. It is recommended not to add ice, and drink your beverages hot, warm, or room-temp.
- Stay balanced: The best postpartum herbal formulas are well balanced and typically have at least 4 herbs, and sometimes more than 10. All of them nourish and move the blood to promote proper circulation and optimal healing. Many common ailments postpartum have to do with the drastic depletion of blood and fluids involved in childbirth. Stiffness, headaches, trouble sleeping, and anxiety are all related to blood deficiency. Here (insert clickable link to recipe page) are a few blood-building recipes to consider, and I also recommend having a virtual consultation so I can send you the best formula for you!
- Turn up the heat: The process of birth takes the body from one extreme to another. We go from being very warm, with lots of extra blood and nourishing fluids, to relatively cold and dry. In order to prevent blood stagnation from cold and deficiency we need to add heat, especially to the womb. This accelerates healing, boosts fertility and prevents menstrual complaints once your period resumes. In the event that you had a c-section, this is even more important. Your uterus was exposed to the cold open air. Take hot baths, drink hot beverages, and put a hot pack on your lower abdomen. You can also ask your acupuncturist for a “mother warming treatment”.
Focus on building a new body now, one that is going to serve you even better in your new life as a mother.
- Stress-monster management: Acupuncture is the perfect way to de-stress and recharge. It helps with the release of feel good hormones, can boost milk supply, reduces inflammation and improves circulation for optimal healing and a sense of wellbeing. In the very early newborn phase you can ask to bring your baby with you and they can have a nap on your chest or breastfeed while you are cared for.
- Sleep to shine: If you already struggle with sleep, now is a great time to prioritize improving the quality of your sleep, because you will be getting less of it for a while. I recommend taking magnesium glycinate before bed and having a bedtime ritual that helps you unwind. A 5 minute yin-yoga style stretch or massaging my face and ears while I cleanse my skin are my personal go-tos. If I am really amped up or stressed I might soak my feet in hot water and take a small amount of melatonin 30 minutes before bed. Remember to keep the lights low and only use melatonin on occasion.
- Slow and steady wins Rushing the process of postpartum recovery always backfires. Our bodies hate being rushed. Rushing produces stress hormones that counteract the hormonal intricacies of recovery. Remember how incredible everything that just happened is. Hold your baby and fully realize the miracle your body just made possible. Give yourself grace in the sense of resting when you need rest and eating well when you’re hungry. Don’t push to get your “body back.” Focus on building a new body now, one that is going to serve you even better in your new life as a mother.
