In Ayurveda, postpartum care primarily focuses on balancing the vata dosha within the human body. It gets highly imbalanced during childbirth. Vata is a crucial component in the overall balance of the human body. It governs body movement, circulation and the nervous system. The imbalance in vata dosha exhibits several issues, such as fatigue, anxiety, and digestive issues. This is where Ayurvedic expert postpartum care, also known as Sootika Paricharya, addresses their challenges and delivers balanced and long-term health. This post deals with various aspects of postpartum care, how it helps new mothers, the importance of the postpartum treatment in Ayurveda and more.
Redefining Postpartum Care
In different traditions and regions, a 30-40 day period of rest and recovery is recommended after childbirth. The recovery involves proper rest, light food, and family support. On the other hand, some traditions involve postpartum ritual, consisting of traditional foods and support for day-to-day household tasks. However, to balance the health of the women, new guidelines for postpartum care must be followed. The guideline must be followed under qualified professionals rather than doing it in the home. It is a multi-stage and long process which needs clarity, understanding, experience and sharp observations. Also, the intent of the treatment is the same, but the recovery time varies with women.
The major factors that determine the time period are recovery speed, complexity, and any extra drawbacks during the treatment. Thus, one common step can’t be implemented for everybody. The initial assessment mostly addressed the needs of women in the postpartum period.
5 Importance of Postnatal Care in Ayurveda
Ayurvedic postnatal care (Sutika Paricharya) is crucial for the recovery of the mother after childbirth. It recovers the body in various stages, such as physical, mental, and emotional. The recovery delivery in this method is long-lasting and offers quality benefits. Below are the five key importance of postnatal care:
- Balancing Vata and Restoring Energy– The childbirth is a whole transformative experience and process for females. The process increases Vata, which leads to fatigue, anxiety, and nervousness. The implementation of Ayurvedic warm, and nutritious food under qualified supervision restores energy, reduces pain and balances the nervous system.
- Increasing Lactation and Breast Health– The special herbs (Shatavari) and nourishing foods are used to optimize the quality and quantity of the breast milk. The enhancement of the lactation and milk production are heavily supported by the rich nutrition mothers consume.
- Improving Immunity and Digestion- The postpartum phase weakens the digestive fire (Agni) of the mother. However, the accurate implementation of the diet protocols helps improve metabolism and boost immunity. The additions of the ghee, cumin, ginger and herbs are mostly used.
- Rejuvenation and Physical Recovery– The implementation of the specialised therapies efficiently recovers muscle, ligaments, tissues, increasing uterine involution and eliminating toxins. Abhyanga (warm oil massage) and Swedana (herbal steam) are the most frequent therapies used in these methods.
- Emotional and Mental Health Care– Along with all therapies, diet, eating patterns, and sleeping cycle, taking care of the emotional and mental balance is highly crucial. It consists of regular human interaction, exchanging thoughts, sharing feelings, etc.
After Delivery Care for Mother
Since females go through multi-directional changes during pregnancy, which is majorly addressed and care well. However, for one or other reasons, the after-delivery care of mothers is often ignored. But, Ayurvedic postpartum care (Sutika Paricharya) efficiently addresses this important phase. It focuses on nourishing the mother, restoring strength, and balanced digestion.
Key components of the Ayurvedic postpartum care
Dietary Care (Sootika Ahara)- The nutritious diet is one of the most crucial areas that need prime attention during the recovery period of mothers. The balanced form of food consumption delivers quality results. Below are the right diet options one can choose from:
- Warm and Light Food– Post delivery, it is highly recommended to eat warm and cooked food in a light amount and form. The food can also be soupy and soft, which favors digestion speed, such as rice gruel (Khichdi) with spices like ginger, garlic and cumin.
- Phased Diet– It is followed during the initial days after delivery. It begins the first day with fasting or light liquids, followed by the medicated gruels and then gradually shifted to the solid foods after 5 to 7 days.
- Lactation Support– During the initial days after delivery, taking care of the lactation is highly crucial. It can be effectively addressed with specific foods such as garlic, fenugreek and shatavari to increase milk production.
Physical Care & Hygiene: After delivery, the female body is quite sensitive to any changes, so taking special care is non-negotiable. It also improves the physical transformation. The following are the important actions and areas to work on:
- Abhyana (Oil Massage)– Daily full body massage with warm oil to relieve muscle stress and strengthen tissues and calm vata.
- Abdominal Binding– Female abdominal is the most heavily stressed body part during and post pregnancy. Thus, binding the abdomen with cloth provides support and helps in restoring abdominal muscle strength and managing vata.
- Vethu Kuli (Medicated Bath)– Although bathing is not too frequent after delivery, females must use warm water with the addition of herbs for cleaning and muscle relaxation.
How Ayurveda Supports Natural Healing of New Mothers
After delivery, care for the mother is equally important during the pregnancy period. A large number of females and their families mostly focus on the right diet, care and precaution during pregnancy, but they overlook all essential care measures post-delivery. However, Ayurveda efficiently addresses this crucial phase naturally with maximum output without any drawbacks. It is highly crucial to know that expert postpartum care must always be done under an authorized Ayurvedic practitioner. Below are the areas where Ayurveda address to get the desired quality results:
1. Nutrition– Ayurveda promotes food that is completely suitable for the new mothers. The body must be nutritious, light and easy to digest. For any means, don’t force or overload your body with dry or spicy food. The right food options are rice, lentils, soup, etc.
2. Care of the Perineal Area– The delivery affects the lower body parts drastically. The medical professional gives a bag of warm water to keep around the vaginal area. It relaxes the tissues, and muscles, decreases swelling and helps cover parts from the inside out. This clearly shows- how Ayurveda supports natural healing of new mothers.
3. Restricted Physical Activity- After delivery, mostly female rushes to get back to their original shape. However, the unplanned and without guidance exercise or workout causes major bad effects rather than benefits. Thus, waiting or asking the medical guide is the right way. In the case of a C-section birth, the wait period is a lot longer than the vaginal one. The activity begins with walking, brisk walking, running and then can switch to strength training to the back the original shape and size.
Final Thoughts
The female body undergoes a multi-level, and various types of changes during the entire pregnancy period. The proper care and working for their recovery is highly crucial. Moreover, the female body also needs detailed care and observation after pregnancy. This is where expert postpartum care efficiently addresses all areas of women’s health. It consists of the right food, routine, recovery activity, and more. Furthermore, postpartum care also works for mental well-being, strengthening digestion, and fighting disease fatigue.
However, knowing all details about the female getting treated with postpartum is not enough. The right products deliver the quality results. Kairali- The Ayurvedic healing village manufactures a wide range of postpartum treatment products which deliver fast and quality results.With years of experience, Kairali follows a holistic and organic approach to create the products that deliver rapid recovery to mothers of all ages.
