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herbs

The Best 5 Herbs in the First 10 Days

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Whether you are an Ayurvedic, Chinese or Western herbalist, you may have a few favorite lactation herbs already. There are so many herbs to choose from.

When I ask myself, what are the top herbs for early postnatal use, then ask again, what are the top ones for lactation, my list is often the same, and ginger and pepper are usually at the top. Why? Because we are talking today about the first WEEK after childbirth, when agni is low and vata is high. For lactation, the body’s resources need to be flowing and nourishing, and mother nature does the rest best when she is assisted with certain pungent herbs. Their nutrition-transforming, fast-acting and channel clearing qualities are significant.

“Agni” – our digestive and transformative chemistries, are so important for lactation, happy baby tummies, rejuvenation, strength, mood and feeling light, clear and energized. You will find the postpartum agni needs help to make good use of food. That’s why it’s important to attend to agni first, especially before milk comes in.

Using herbs which are easily accessed in the west, here are my picks. These 5 herbs work like a team to make lactation easy:

  1. Ginger – Enhances digestion and warmth; purifies and clears breast, lymph, respiratory channels and fluids; helps burns toxins/wastes; reduces gas and bloating; lowers vata and kapha; is sattvic–promoting clarity, lightness and purity of mind; and is immune protective.
  2. Pepper – Enhances digestion and warmth; purifies and clears breast channels, lymph, respiratory channels and fluids; burns toxins/wastes; reduces gas and bloating; lowers vata and kapha; strongly immune protective, including antiviral and antiparasitic; special muscle tissue purification, energizing (rajasic).
  3. Garlic – Strong galactagogue; enhances digestion and warmth; purifies and clears lymph, blood, respiratory channels and fluids; burns toxins/wastes; reduces gas, bloating; lowers vata and kapha; strongly immune protective including antibacterial and antiparasitic; energizing (rajasic), grounding (tamasic), strengthening (rajasic); protects the subtle energy field. * Must be well cooked.
  4. Fennel/Anise – Good galactagogue; antiparasitic, digestive, anti-acidic (fennel), moves gas out and shrinks bloating, (gentle deepan and pachan actions); cooling/warming (respectively), gentle anti cough/kapha; anti vata; gently estrogenic; sattvic.
  5. Fenugreek – Good galactagogue, antiparasitic, heals small intestine wall and digestive function; helps loosen retained placental fragments and brings down upper body heat; helpful with fever; gently warming, gentle anti-cough, anti-vata and anti-kapha; sattvic. Not very effective in capsules for many.

Do you see how all these 5 herbs help digestion? Continue with these digestives, adjusting heat level gradually as appropriate, over the next weeks and months postpartum for best results. But please don’t take them in capsules – make teas and season your food with them.

What are the next 5 herbs on your list? 

There are quite a number of herbs which help hormones, digestion and lactation together, and also help keep the body relaxed and warm. When you are creating an herbal formula, think about all of these properties.

If you are thinking that shatavari or borage might be good additions to the list, think carefully. Surprisingly, shatavari – while it is a an awesome galactagogue and female rejuvenative – is not appropriate for the first 9-10 days for most mamas. Both are too heavy and cooling for early postpartum (borage is a refrigerant), and should be avoided. 

If mama is having hot flashes, hot tea using cumin, coriander and fennel is a better choice in the first week or so, with shatavari coming in after agni is strong and channels are working well.

And if you are wanting to put raspberry leaf, nettles, gotu kola or oat straw on your list? You’ll want to add 1 or more of the first 5 from my lactation list, to help balance their cooling, drying, and/or astringent qualities – which are all vata increasing.

Dr. Aviva Romm recently wrote a great blog post called Five Favorite Herbal Medicines for Women you will enjoy. I love that she addresses the western woman’s herb resources. These herbs are not our favorite picks for the first few days after childbirth however, just because we have these needs which are not well understood yet in the west.

If you want to learn more about the Ayurvedic approach to postpartum herbalism, you can take our Safe Postpartum Herbs class.  In this 5 hour lecture series, you will learn how to safely help a mother and newborn with many common issues. There are basic Ayurvedic principles which are not widely known and really complement the western–or Chinese pharmacopeia. I hope you will learn these secrets and practice them.

Do you know how often your child goes #2?

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As long as we are changing diapers, we know.  But do we know what it means – how often, and the consistency?  It is a primary signal of baby or child — or adult health factors.  Knowing your young or even older child’s bathroom habits will help so much to protect their health and happiness.  Really.

In all imbalance types, Ayurveda can offer simple easily understood guidance using properties of lifestyle and food. Today we talk about what is mostly the first type, showing some strength in her constitution to the third.

There is much which can be said, and FYI, the quality of bowel movements are categorized in three general ways:

  1. hard – dry, rough, this may be even pellet like.  Not as frequent; ie, constipated.  This is not healthy, not comfortable, and often accompanied by gas, bloating and or painful spasms (colic in young ones), even bleeding.  This is a sign of excess Vata dosha (the functional effect of air and ether elements combined).
  2. watery or loose – frequent through the day mustardy yellow cottage cheesey curds are normal and healthy for baby.  When older, or if it becomes green, mucousy or really wet, be concerned about loss of minerals as well as dehydration and give electrolytes, as well as consulting your doc or midwife.  This often happens with flu or other infection.  Loose but not runny wet diarrhea is a sign often of high pitta (functional combination of fire and water elements), candida perhaps, or other parasites can give this also.
  3. well formed, full, firm but soft – this is good.  This is a sign of good kapha usually (functional combination of earth and water elements), unless there is mucous in it, then kapha is in excess.  Kapha’s constipation is just slower and more difficult though not usually painful.

After other foods besides breast milk are added – formula or “solids” – it becomes thicker, smellier, etc, and commonly because the “solids” or formula are introduced without proper culturing of baby’s digestive system (no blame here, you didn’t know!) constipation and bad odor are both very common.  Mamas eating constipating foods will also give this tendency to newborn babies.  If baby’s prakruti (and vikruti) ie, genetic/body type makeup and imbalances are more fragile type than mama’s, it will show more in the little one.

For this mama who asks:

My 18 month old gets constipated. Had a weekly bm as an infant. Now it’s every 2-3 days. But I sense she is uncomfortable as it is too long. What do you recommend? I was thinking oil into the rectum? Almond oil?

She has no trouble with a bm once she starts having one. She is simply backed up. Her stool is often hard but not like pellets, actually rather large and typically with no foul odour.

Its just that there is no regularity and now that she is speaking if she does not go daily she can tell me she is not comfortable and has to go.

Pay attention to these simple words in your baby’s life:  Constipation is dry, rough, harder and lighter than more moist and oily stool.  There is a tendency to feel more cold, although in some cases it may be that mama takes too many herbal digestives and digestion/absorption is extra sharp.  Let’s start with emphasizing more moisture, smoothing textures, warm, heavy and oily qualities in foods and environment to start creating balance.

Warm oil baby massage is proven to help.

Diet is also very important.  Your 18 month old will be eating other foods.  It is a good sign that there is no foul odor, and that once the bowel moves it is not painful for Baby.  However, a long term habit of only once or 3 times a week indicates long term imbalances. She is little enough, it may correct pretty easily with dietary modifications.

Reduce dry, rough, light foods like toast, crackers and cheerios and thick, hard to digest cheeses and meats.  Soups and softly cooked moist things from veggies to simply prepared puddings are good, freshly cooked, rather than from a jar or leftover the next day. Cook rice, cereals etc with extra moisture and add fats and a bit of gentle spicing to her foods. All these things can be contributing to or reversing constipation. Definitely avoid corn – any non organic corn is pretty guaranteed to be genetically modified (see the movie online, Genetic Roulette for a real heads up).

Not knowing more about maternal or baby’s diet, I would advise not only the usual of making sure warm water is given the baby 1/2 – 1 hour after eating (can be made with very weak fennel tea, maybe 1/8 tsp seeds boiled 5 minutes in two cups of water – make fresh daily).  Add to baby’s food clarified butter, sometimes coconut oil if it is not winter, sesame or olive oil to baby’s food (vary them, not together).  Avocados are probably already part of her diet?  If at 18 months she is getting nut butter, thin it with water quite a bit, and perhaps add a little of the dark “highest lignin” flax oil to it, maybe 1/2 tsp per serving.

Begin each new food about 1 week apart, and include some “middle of the road” spices to ensure good digestion of food including the fats.  Cumin, coriander, turmeric, fennel, dill, caraway, cinnamon, pinch cardamom, a little cooked garlic even, all can be used (2 or 3 at a time not all at once).   No nutmeg when bowels are slow.  Commonly people give such bland foods and without fats to babies.  Spices help transform food and support good appetite and digestion.  Baby has been getting them through mama in utero, and through breast milk.  Why stop?

Good fats have so many virtues.  It is another topic, but please note, they beneficially lubricate while nourishing and stabilizing long burning energy!   Early postpartum mamas are advised to ingest extra of these good fats, for both their own comfort and rejuvenation, and for rich nourishing and balanced breast milk.  Baby and mama will do very well without uncomfortable laxatives by including more warmth, oilness, moisture, and also moist slippery quality of foods.  So, stewed dried fruits, which are rich in fiber, iron and muscle building nutrients, are also decidedly slippery and help things move through.  A bit of cinnamon or tiny pinch of clove is great to include therein.

Newborns on breast or bottle only benefit greatly in my practice by a fingertip (or nippletip) of organic clarified butter several times a day also, for constipation.

If the case is more severe, rub a little of this or castor oil on anus to relax (remember, warm!).  If none of these things work, you can give very small oil enema – using bulb syringe, maybe a tablespoon at most of one of the above, or yes, almond or sesame oil can be used.  Avoid sesame in summer with babies prone to rash.  The oil not only lubricates the bowel, it loosens chronically caked stuff, gently, and also nourishes the body through this amazing organ, the colon.  I have seen mamas not infrequently, given 1/3 cup enema of warm sesame oil, retain the whole thing at night and absorb all or most of it.

We live in a culture dedicated to low fat everything after some misreading of a research study several decades ago, reports Sally Fallon in the amazing first chapter of her cookbook, Nourishing Traditions.  I have the cookbook – don’t use the recipes personally, but want all my students to read the first 80 pages.  She has done a great service with the corrections to many dietary beliefs, and has documented it very well.  Let’s look again!

Some oils penetrate all 7 tissues and can nourish through the skin, like sesame oil, as Dr. Vasant Lad explains in depth about the qualities and actions of different oils on each tissue in his comprehensive Textbook of Ayurveda, Volume 3.  Warm oil massage on baby with sesame oil will nourish all 7 tissues and help re-oleate Baby.  Warm oily clockwise circles on baby’s tummy, damp heat on the abdomen, and simple knees to tummy ankle/leg presses will really help too.   Do any leg “bicycles” slowly, not too fast, to allow mind-body connection, integration and coordination to be cultivated.

Although you can give your baby a little temporary increase in oil, even 1/4 tsp of castor oil or a little oil enema and get things moving, it is so important to tend to the cause and change it before layers of complication cascade.  You will thank yourself for taking the time and your child will so benefit, all their life, from this good start.

Prompted by this mama today, let’s summarize a few important things:

  1. Contrary to what most docs will say, if baby doesn’t go at least daily, it is not healthy.
  2. It may be common, “normal, but you can see, Baby is not comfortable!
  3. Older kids may be grumpy and not know why.
  4. Younger or older kids with chronic constipation will begin to unfold layers of the disease process from the backed up toxins, dryness, hardness, discomforts…. it may manifest as GI tract stuff or migrate into headaches, skin problems, even nervous system problems (that is not a comprehensive list, just a few notes!)  If these get treated symptomatically rather than identifying the root cause, those will continue also as chronic problems….
  5. Long term chronic patterns can begin with imbalance from birth.
  6. If it is chronic, it is more difficult to turn around and the effects may be more serious.

OK, I’m not trying to scare anyone, just want you to give yourself maybe needed motivation to make some changes.  It usually means dietary and lifestyle changes.  It’s worth it.

 

Finding Mama Medicine & Food in the Rose of Sharon

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Today I snacked on a treat… sweet petals of “Rose of Sharon”, combined with a few iron rich Monukka raisins, pine nuts and I must admit, some dark organic chocolate, in sweet coconut milk.  Exquisite!   In the heat, that is all I wanted for a light supper actually.   But what are the medicinal properties, I wondered?  (Certainly the chocolate is not wise for a postpartum mama-baby.)  A shrub called Rose of Sharon is blooming in my back yard, and I felt her qualities might have gifts for new mamas.

There is much more than expected, for good mood food and herbal supports!   There are stories about  two plants sometimes of that name, with similar medicinal properties and growth patterns.  Cistus Ladanifer, Rock Rose or Rose of Sharon was used in biblical times medicinally.  Hibiscus Siriacus or Rose of Sharon is a relative of Hibiscus and Hollyhock, all in the Malvaceae family, and though little used in western herbology it is well known to the Chinese.  Writing about these helps me honor  them both.

Googling for pictures, we can see here the different leaf structure, with similar large blooms of 5 petals usually with dark red spots on each near the middle, and very

 similar growth pattern as the plant gets to full size, even to how the many buds form at the stem/leaf bases abundantly up the tall shrub’s long stems.  They bloom similarly – both species – from late July through September or later.  Cistus – Rock Rose flowers, above, are more papery.  Leaves of Cistus Ladanifer are more narrow, thicker and with more resinous sticky essential oil (still not a lot) and a smaller, narrower but thicker leaf.  It is more drought resistant.

Hibiscus Siriacus – Rose of Sharon flowers, below, are more demulcent.  Leaves of Siriacus often three lobed and serrated, are larger and make a more tropical looking bushy plant. Although my Rose of Sharon lives very happily in Albuquerque, she needs more watering to keep from drooping than the obviously more resin protected Cistus, which at least one source calls an evergreen.    Hibiscus varieties are definitely deciduous.  Flowers of both Rose of Sharon and Rock rose look and grow much the same, even growing from buds placed on stems in similar fashion.

The shrub and many medicinal descriptions and qualities are similar but it seems the mucilaginous properties of the hibiscus varieties dominate, and the medicinal resin also called Labdanum even in the Bible, is special to cistus.  Dried flowers of the hibiscus family are often used in Chinese medicine in tea form for multiple purposes, including as gentle and mild laxative, although dried powder used in large quantity reverses and can be constipative.  So though delicious and nourishing as fresh blooms for a cooked food item, we should also observe its effects with our clients, after testing on ourselves.  I am new enough eating these I can’t give you feedback yet, except that one of the fresh large blossoms did not make any change in my stool.

Western herbalists do not seem to use these plants much for medicine.  I was delighted to find some pages on Rose of Sharon in a book called Herbal Emissaries: Bringing Chinese Herbs to the West : A Guide to Gardening, Herbal Wisdom and Well Being.  Great detail is there about how the Orientals have used this plant for long time.  In moderation it may serve many uses including gentle demulcent benefits for irritated or inflamed gut.  The flowers may be used externally as an emollient and internally in GI tract support.  It reduces BP, is hypotensive and mildly diuretic, according to the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine quoted on Wiki.  White flowers are favored for their best medicine apparently in both plants.  Flowers, shoots and unripe seed pods can be used in healthy stir fry from all I see and will be experimenting with.

A sticky resin like substance on bark and leaves of Cistus, called labdanum, has been used since ancient times and is spoken of in the Song of Solomon in the Bible, reports the Essential Oils Desk Reference third edition.  There 2/3 of a page speaks of the essential oil called Cistus ladanifer, also called Rock Rose.

The ants were all over my shrub in the spring- it is sweet and a young shoots a little sticky.  But this plant matches visuals for the Hibiscus variety.  Ants didn’t like the neem spray I used, and the plant has gained it’s strength and is not much attracting them now.  It is blooming prolifically every day so I have begun drying some flowers. They are slower to dry than, say, dandelion leaves, which indicates more nourishing than cleansing bio-constituents in them.

So my plant is in the mallow family – as is okra and hollyhock.  Gentle properties are found especially in the flowers of this plant.  “Medicinally, rose of Sharon’s flower buds contain mucilage, a gooey medicinal compound made of polysaccharides, found in most species of the mallow family; think of okra’s sliminess. Mucilage can be used to heal burns, wounds, gastric ulcers and internal and external inflammation and irritation, such as sore throats or urinary tract infections.”  This information and much more is found in the “Urban Forager”, herbalist Holly Richey’s article, Eat Your Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus and Hollyhocks.  I love it!

Reducing to inflammation says reducing to Pitta dosha and alkalizing; the mucilage is reducing to Vata dosha; rebuilding for tissues, and soothing.  Whether it is actually cooling or not, it is gently so, and at least one of these “Roses” may have some prabhav for the mind and cellular rejuvenation.

Cistus ladanifer is an evergreen shrub  say some, and Hibiscus Seriacus deciduous.  The latter growing it appears even more readily to a mature 6 to 12 feet tall and about 6 feet or more in diameter.  Both drought tolerant and love full sun if possible say the growers.  Ladanifer may be very fragrant; Hibiscus Seriacus in my yard is only very mildly so, but still sweet.

Bioconstiuents which stand out are the sesquiterpenes in the labdanum.  Sesquiterpenes among other gifts are excellent at oxygenating and favored for support of brain function.   “The essential oil of Cistus comes from a rose that has a soft, honey-like scent. It is believed to be the biblical Rose of Sharon. Calming and uplifting, it is helpful for meditating and counseling. Traditionally, cistus has been used for respiratory support.  Cistus has an approximate ORAC of 38,648 (TE/L). TE/L is expressed as micromole Trolox equivalent per liter,” according to Young Living Essential Oils company.

Rose of Sharon essential oil, also called Cistus ladanifer, give Labdanum or Rock Rose essential oil.  It is steam distilled from the plant leaves and branches.  It has been studied for its effects on the regeneration of cells, is antiviral, antibacterial, andihemorrhagic, anti-inflammatory, supports the sympathetic nervous system and stimulates immune activity.  It is used with hemorrhages and arthritis, and lifts the emotions.  Mood supportive, VATA and immune supportive – nice!

This essential oil may be – if known as organic and distilled without solvents – for inhalation, dietary or topical use – Topically, up to 2-4 drops can be used on an area, touched on chakra, marma or acupressure centers, and it can be used of course by direct inhalation – rub 1-3 drops in hands and cup over face, breathing into respiratory system.  When using as a supplement, dilute one to four drops in 4 fl. oz. of liquid such as almond, coconut or rice milk, not water; or use in few drops of coconut oil in a blend or in capsules, in clarified butter or other dietary fat.  These are all preferred uses in my opinion, as those plants which are less abundant in oil are costly to use in baths, diffusers, and full body oil mixes.    Up to 10-15 drops can be added to your bath water by first mixing with milk or 1-2 Tablespoons of salt, and then adding to the bath. (Essential oil mixes well with milk or something with protein or fat; it does not mix with water and would float on top of the bath water risking skin irritation.)

For reducing skin aging and wrinkles, a drop can be mixed with night cream or oil and applied to face.  Given possible skin sensitivity issues, I would slightly dilute in some way, if using anywhere the sun will shine much, or with any repetition.  If pregnant or under a doctor’s care, we must advise to consult your physician who probably has no knowledge of this dear plant’s virtues, so I would come prepared with some good source material besides my blogpost to gain his blessings.

Naturopath Ann Hill cites the Bach Flower remedy uses of Rose of Sharon for complete exhaustion with underlying anxiety.  She gives recipes for preparation, and to use 3 drops 3X daily.  I am happy to find this; anxiety underneath complete exhaustion is not uncommon and risky postpartum issue.  We know from Ayurved that support is needed to reduce the Vata, rejuvenate nervous system, support deep rest that transcends the high Vata conditions.  Sometimes we find so much deep anxiety that bringing in energetic medicines like the flower essences as well as the physical food/herb and essential oils help a client turn around much more easily.

Whether we are looking at Cistus ladanifer, or to lesser extent perhaps the Hibiscus Siriacus, the medicinal properties speak of Vata pacification, rejuvenative powers, immune supportive and gentle effectiveness.  The ladanifer in particular strongly whispers of precious ojas enhancing and sattvic effects; special gentleness, rejuvenative powers, physical and mental protective potency.   This journey of discovery brings me to cherish – and use – a little bottle I have had in my Biblical essential oils kit for many years, called Cistus, alias Rose of Sharon.

A little on my neck this evening has been calming and refreshing!   You can be sure the next time I teach about essential oils and perinatal uses, as well about herbs and perinatal uses, these plants will be included.  And I will be exploring culinary uses – stir fries, (the rare even for me, salads and decorating sweets), edible presentations, as dried herbal, and such as in one old herbal recipe for administering flowers of Rose of Sharon, biscuits.  My rose petal shortbread was great – this should be fun too!  I hope this brings you closer to exploring these plants if they are available in your life also.

 

Herbs for Mood – Depression and many related conditions

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Herbs for Postnatal Moods – We use several really good ones.  Front line – I often call on Tulsi with Gotu Kola or another Brahmi tea – serotonin enhancing in Nature’s user friendly bio-balancing way that can be tandemed for month or more before beginning to SLOWLY reduce other herbs, according to some experienced Ayurvedics.  Transitioning off over at least 6 months, according to Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, if on mood meds for over a year.  She does not however have Ayurveda’s toolbox, so I believe there can be more help up front while still proceeding so very cautiously.   (Good results for a few days do not mean all is well – the medicines have stored in high quantity in brain tissues and begin to download in chunks into blood).  So this is just a beginning discussion of a number of mood supportive herbs.

These 2-3 herbs are also gentle at a time we need to be gentle!  They are key manas (Mind) rasayana (rejuvenative tonic) herbs.  Yes, they are safe in pregnancy and postpartum.  Especially for Mamas, I combine them a bit of digestive (ginger, pippali, or even cardamom), with shatavari (wild asparagus root) to potentiate the manas effects (connecting to body/hormones, and enhancing to lactation anyone?) and/or ashwagandha (more root chakra and Vata grounding/pacifying, also helps lactation).  There is controversy about use of ashwagandha in pregnancy, some are big on it, others totally avoid, I take a more middle perspective, in smaller amounts and well combined.  We can discuss that again another post.

Although there are many distinct diagnoses for mood issues after, or before childbirth, in Ayurveda we see a common thread during the postpartum time of high Vata, which may also push another dosha out of it’s right place and function.  We can consider support with herbal foods – a gentle benign tea – and leave the legally appropriate scope of practice in hands of licensed practitioner.

Tulsi-Gotu Kola Tea is on sale – just received the message today – with this wonderful company, Organic India .  I so honor this company – they sustainably employ thousands of families now in India in organic herb production.  They have loose leaf tulsi and brahmi (gotu kola or bacopa both work similarly and are called “Brahmi”).

I learned this from Ayurvedic practitioner of many years, Sarasvati Buhrman – she gives 4-5 drops nasya (nose drops/nasal administration of herbs) per nostril of brahmi decocted into ghee for Vata depression, varying it for Pitta and Kapha, along with 4-5 cups daily of the above tea as front line support while the rest of needed “homework” is being put into place.  I’ve worked with an older woman her family sent me East to support for a week, in severe suicidal condition under Dr Bhurman’s advice, and watched it really help, but please note that nasya is contraindicated in Pregnancy.

And severe cases MUST be under her doctor’s umbrella of support and referral.  Particularly with pitta cases involving violent impulses or thoughts which are highest risk.  There may be risk to baby or mother’s life.  They often have many issues and sources of advice, which can throw them off from prioritizing use of your support, even dietary and massage gets de-prioritized.  So this is offered as beginning discussion on long term project for education and care research perhaps.  We would want to look at the individual’s other issues in postpartum time and prioritize for it all to create their unique herbal formulation, under client’s and Doctor’s OK.  Research projects would start with much simpler parameters of course, and less potent results for many.

How does all this fit in context of a postpartum care practice?  

The following perspectives and the best possible care are especially important!  Mood support is greatly aided with the following knowledge and skills which may be much less difficult to implement than herbal formulation.   A mother’s special abhyanga (massage) given 3 days in a row absolute minimum, or 5-6 days (not spread out, in a row) as a wiser minimum for more serious cases, so helps ground the herbal effects and not just pop back out of benefits to this process.  It is a deeply significant component of postpartum care and of mood supports,  actually advised for all mamas, not just mood challenged, for 42 days daily.

Also deeply important are the rather unique even to Ayurvedic students and many western trained Ayruvedic practitioners, dietary recommendations after childbirth.  You can learn more in my basic webinars on Ayurvedic Maternal and Newborn Care.  Also useful is the e-cookbook and e-handbook for your clients, Touching Heaven, Tonic Postpartum Care/Cooking with Ayurveda.    The advanced 5 hour webinar on Safe Postpartum Herbs is also available, and will be most valuable to those with some knowledge of Ayurvedic herbology.  Those wanting to get started with potent supports right away can begin studying client and practitioner use of aromatherapy.   A 2 hour Essential Oils (More than) Basics class is also now recorded and getting really good reviews – as I must say I expected – even from experienced aromatherapists.

The early post-pregnancy time has been called “The Black Hole in Health Care” by Dr. Jeanne Watson Driscoll PhD,APRN,BC.  It is a big Y in the road, and effects easily last for decades – “42 Days for 42 Years” according to “Mother of Ayurveda” in the west, Dr. Sarita Shrestha.

I must make clear disclaimers to this post – it cannot be intended to replace the advice of your medical doctor or primary practitioner.  Information here is presented for educational purposes and  you must complete your own homework and work within your appropriate scope of practice.  For serious concerns, you may wish to also look at the reports by Dr. Ann Blake Tracy on a well researched website maintained for many years, Drugawareness.org.  She still offers phone consultations if you feel you are having adverse reactions to mood meds.  For some of the heavy social/medical industry implications – The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is a nonprofit mental health watchdog, responsible for helping to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive practices.  This is not a first focus recommendation for mothers, please; there is a serious political and social conscience and service they provide for those so inclined to work in that arena.

In your service,

Ysha Bhu

Warm Smoothies

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Nourish postpartum mothers for lactation, strength and rejuvenation with warm smoothies.  Sound wierd?  They are delicious, or can be.  Here is a Mother’s Nourishing Oat Drink.  I would love to hear recipe play.

Maya Tiwari’s cookbook, A Life of Balance has some good recipes to work with, and can use some modifications for the postpartum window.   Coming out of a long home spring cleanse (PK style), my agni is iffy and my craving is for rejuvenating influences – I’m a good candidate (using less oil/ghee) for testing postpartum recipes.  How about you or loved ones?  Children love these too.

Both barley and oats are reported by some sources helpful for lactation.   Barley being astringent and more cleansing, it will be more for Kapha moms or after first few weeks, or if there is a cold and she still needs this soothing, nourishing effect.  I’m playing with oats today.

In Ayurved we know the gunas (qualities, out of 20 in nature) here are important influencers on lactation (notes below).

This one is quite good, was easy with pressure cooker and blender, and can use some refinements still.

Nourishing and Strengthening Oat Drink
serves 4

Quick and Easy!

2 cups pure water in medium pressure cooker
1/4 cup steel cut oats
2 cup water on oats, in stainless inset bowel for pressure cooker
3 T iron rich sweetener – dates, succanat or jaggery syrup not raisins
1/2 tsp anise or fennel seed
2 – 3 slices fresh ginger
2 T light sesame oil
1/4 tsp mineral salt
1/2 tsp Bala

or use 1 tsp-1Tbs extra ghee per serving for early postpartum mothers

Instructions

  1. Put oats, sweetener, herbs, fat and salt with 2 cups of pure water in stainless bowel, on a stainless trivet or a few ball jar screw on lids, in the pressure cooker.  This setup will prevent the oat water from sliming the pressure cooker valve.
  2. Put at least 2 cups of pure water in the bottom of the pressure cooker – should come up or just over the trivet in a medium or smaller pressure cooker.   You will need more water in a larger pot.
  3. bring the pressure up and cook for several minutes.  This/instructions vary a little from brand to brand and by my experience, is not critical as long as it is cooked enough.  Turn it off and let set until pressure is down – this continues to cook safely without your attention.
  4. Add your warm (not boiling hot) oat mix and the cooking water in the pot to the blender.
  5. Process well and serve warm, and the same day.  Wonderful snack or early morning food for mama; she gets  extra ghee in hers.

Notes – the oats, anise or fennel and qualities (among the 20 gunas) of this preparation all support good lactation:  warm, oily, moist, sweet, very easy to digest includes some digestive and appetite enhancing spices usually.  Extra thin, creamy texture and all this is grounding, integrating, building to plasma/lymph tissue (rasa dhatu), from which breast milk is made.

If you like to play with recipes, here are some suggestions in keeping with postnatal needs –

  1. whatever source oats you have available – no pressure cooker needed for quick cookers.  Whole/steel cut gives best flavor
  2. presoak the steel cut oats or other grain
  3. instead of sesame oil, use ghee (min 1 tsp /cup, maybe 1 Tbs for most new mamas)
  4. 1/2 Cinnamon stick in with the oats – powder for quick oats
  5. dry ginger (and sesame oil) for kaphas
  6. more water for stove top cooking
  7. 2-4 Tbs soaked cashews after 10 days
  8. or 2 T soaked hulled mung after first few days, for added and balanced protein, with extra 1/2 cup water
  9. leave out herbs if desired.  notes:
    • the Bala is for strengthening nerves, grounding, special Vata rasayan
    • or Shatavari after 8-9 days for galactague and female systems rejuv; estrogenic
    • or Ashwagandha after 8-9 days for grounding, mamsa dhatu, vata, and doing too much
    • or Vidari Kanda or Wild Yam for progesterone supports
  10. Varieties of rice instead of oats – (be sure to soak and pressure or long cook) – favor a few whole cloves, maybe few cardamom seeds.

Madhavi Rathod’s mother taught me the Raab recipe in our cookbook, which is prepared differently, also quick and easy.   You can use rice and other flours in that way also, for even more yum and gluten free options.  For some, especially vegetarians, wheat is particularly satisfying and grounding.  Semolina (organic, please due to all the things they do to the plants these days) may bother some with gluten sensitivity, but the outer husk of wheat which has been removed for semolina, is the culprit as allergen for many of us.

Please share if you get a recipe which sings, ok?  Although I must admit, this body is quite pleased with the results of what I drank 1/2 hour ago.

Enjoy!
Ysha