INTRODUCTION TO CONTROVERSIAL POSTPARTUM MANAGEMENT WITH AYURVEDA, AND OUR SUCCESSES

Red Flags

We have much education to do as part of our service. Newly birthed mothers naturally seek to do the best for their babies, husbands, and themselves. Not uncommonly, parents think they need to avoid or minimize fats, sweets, salt, cooked foods, dairy, and garlic. They often choose heavy cheeses, fast foods, toast and other dry foods, heavy meats, salads, raw vegetable juices, brown rice, whole wheat, soy, lots of leftover casseroles, and frozen foods.

These are all red flags to the Ayurvedic Practitioner and AyurDoula to watch for likely problems with slow postpartum rejuvenation, depression and/or colic (unfortunately, this is so common. "We are indebted to you for our colic-free baby" - Chad Hammil, father and professional musician/professor of EthnoMusicology shared a common refrain.

Postpartum digestive "fires" are always weak and need other special babying :). This is one of the reasons we spend more than two days in class and kitchen practicum around dietary factors. How these things are chosen and used, and the quality, are essential to understand. Special medical conditions can modify the recommendations, of course, such as in Shelly's story below.

So this is just a door opener to say, we have lots to share in this discussion, and much experience confirming the Ayurvedic approach which we realize may be controversial even more to certain natural foodists than other groups who are just being asked to "clean up" the quality of their foods. It is a change that can influence the quality of maternal - and infant - health and happiness for the next 42 years or so, claim ancient Ayurvedic texts! Please consider exploring this wealth of time tested wisdom and practices with us. We are very pleased and amazed ourselves at the results.

The scope of the discussion takes many pages and many more hours for an AyurDoula in training to understand and be able to talk about. As there is time, it is the subject of forums, articles, blogs, stories and other modes of communication as well.

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The Big Fat Story

Mothers with depression show high incidence of low blood lipids. Recent retakes on the cholesterol research shows that we actually need good quality cholesterol such as in butter, ghee (clarified butter), coconut oil, avocadoes, and nuts to lesser extent, to make healthy hormones! Going without "to loose weight" or protect heart health actually is not the answer and can cause problems. Witness the tremendous growth of hormonal and heart problems since low fat was begun to be touted several decades ago.

The arterial plaque research is pointing the finger much more at hydrogenated fats such as in margarine, most peanut butters, Crisco, hydrogenated coconut oil, and homogenized milk.

Ayurvedic medicine has a special "oleation" recommendation for 3 months postpartum to ingest unusual amounts of clarified butter and butter. Chinese medicine, from a country not using much dairy, favors abundance of sesame oil and especially, toasted sesame oil after childbirth. Dr. Todd Caldecott reports on the Ayurvedaonline yahoo forum that sesame oil actually has some special self-protecting enzyme that keeps it from the rancidity that other vegetable cooking oils of related composition have, so perhaps this toasted sesame oil thing is true. We use it as a delicious alternative for a varied menu and cuisine options with our clients. But please note that in addition, fats and oils concentrate petrochemical toxins from their environment when they grow, so it is particularly important to buy organic as much as possible.

Those concerned with accumulations from our past history (a real concern showing up not just with pesticides, in newborn cord blood from even DDT banned years ago!) will appreciate the good news about the power of Ayurvedic cleansing over many other cleansing protocols to remove this kind of toxins from the deeper tissues. (For another discussion, or search archives at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/perinatalayurveda and the files section also there).

Research also shows the need for more EFA-3s (Essential omega fatty acid 3s) most available in high lignan Flax Seed oil or deep sea fish oils - and very reduced EFA-6s (found in "cooking" and salad oils). After the birth, with a very weak digestive fire, mothers handle the flax oil best when taken "highest lignan" form (about 2 Tbs) and blended/pureed with fresh cottage cheese, panir, or ricotta, or with good kefir or yoghurt at lunch time (season sweet or savory, with curry, ginger, herbs, honey, etc).

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See Touching Heaven, Tonic Postpartum Recipes with Ayurveda. Consultations, correspondence training modules, and the companion e-books, Touching Heaven, Tonic Postpartum Care/Cooking with Ayurveda are available by E-download at sacredwindow.com.

* We love to hear your feedback, please feel free to join us and share or ask questions on the Perinatal Ayurveda forum.

Suicidal reverse - Shelly's experience

Shelly*, at 6 weeks after birth, was looking at the pills in her medicine cabinet and wondering how many it would take. Her husband was away for 2 weeks on business. As a recovering alcoholic of 15 years and an AA member, she knew it was time to ask for help! When I asked her what she was willing to do/pay, she asked me what I thought would be minimum and then said "whatever it takes". This is what I needed to hear; I wasn't trained for such special conditions and wanted to be sure I covered all the bases. I knew that a MINIMUM 3 days in a row was needed for most women who were feeling somewhat depressed.

She received 6 days of kitchen cleaning-cooking-serving-cleaning and shopping list maintenance (it was more than a 3 hour shift in her kitchen!) and 6 Ayurvedic warm oil specialized postpartum massages for the price of 5 (2 for 1 from a student), along with the 4 basic herbals and a special preparation based upon her liver and emotional concerns from consultation with an Ayurvedic physician. Under this physician's guidance the diet was modified to less fats and dairy, and favored sesame and sunflower oil rather than butter and ghee. We made sure she napped and drew a hot bath for her before leaving. We also used the essential oils emotional protocol and counseled with her daily as well as with two key friends and taught her infant massage.

So from Monday to Monday … that second Monday when I drove up she greeted me (wisely, sitting on the sofa, not at the door) saying "Ysha, you have no idea how different I feel since the first day I saw you driving up. I feel like years have passed, it is such a difference! I feel SO much better." Her progress was monitored in the following weeks and months and at 6 months she was still leading a very happy, healthy, normal young mother's life - the usual challenges and joys, good energy, friendships, and home life.

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Please note that this key guidance is mostly unknown by doctors as well as midwives in this country. *Name changed to protect privacy.