Postpartum is the period that follows after delivering a child. There are many conflicts about whether pregnancy is more difficult or postpartum. But the fact is that both these phases are the most beautiful and cherished ones for all the mothers.

About Postpartum

Postpartum is a phase that comes with a lot of responsibilities. You might face many ups and downs after delivery while adjusting your habits in accordance with the baby. Endurance and calmness are the keys to enjoying the process and making the most of it. Practising any meditation or mindfulness is the key to prevent postpartum depression. You need to drop some habits and adopt new ones for the baby.

Ayurveda for Postpartum

Ayurveda should be your go-to option when you want to know about do’s and don'ts as a new mother. It is rooted to the ancient ages and is trusted by our mothers and ancestors for themselves. What else can be better than trusting something that your mother has faith in?

Ayurveda provides holistic guidelines about the practices that are best for you as a new mother. Before diving into these practices, let's first know what Ayurveda says about postpartum.

Ayurveda says that there are three energies called 'doshas' which constitute our body namely - Vāta dosha, Pitta dosha, and Kapha dosha. As per Ayurveda, after delivery, the void in the womb is filled up with air. This causes a disturbance in the level of Vāta (air) in the body. There are some practices that suggest how to control this as well.

Here are some of the practices suggested by Ayurveda to follow postpartum:

Take rest

The first and foremost advice that Ayurveda gives regarding post partum is to take as much rest as possible, especially during the first week after delivery.

It is usually recommended that new mothers rest for the first six weeks after giving birth and avoid going out. This is to avoid contact with any kind of externality that might affect the health of both mother and baby.

You can ask your family members, friends, or household help to take over all the daily chores during this period of time.

Consume a Healthy Diet

In the first few months after birth of the baby, breast milk forms their only source of nutrition. Therefore, it is important for a new mother to take care of herself and ensure proper intake of nutrients and diet.

The body gets through immense physical pain while delivering the child and experiences deficiencies post that. To overcome from this, mothers should do the following postpartum:

• You should have a rich diet loaded with nutrients and vitamins to help yourself recover faster.
• You should necessarily include herbs like cumin, fennel seeds, fenugreek, ajmoda, etc. in your diet to increase lactation.
• You should consume herbs like ginger, shatavari, ashwagandha, pippali, etc. You can consume it in a form of herbal tea, or in powdered form along with water. These herbs work together to aid the healing process.
• Ensure doing healthy snacking in frequent intervals. Eat ladoos made with nuts, ghee, flour and gond. You can also have ladoo made with herbs like Fenugreek powder, ginger powder, jaggery, fennel seeds and ghee. They are a good source of nutrition for the mothers body and help fight deficiencies postpartum.

Keep Your Ears Covered

Ears are considered the major point of source through which air enters our body. Delivering the baby creates a lot of void in the womb, which imbalances Vāta in the new mother's body. To avoid more air from entering the body, it is best to keep ears covered postpartum.

Additionally, one should also cover the baby's ears and avoid directly exposing the baby to the surrounding air.

Stay warm

Delivering a baby makes the body lose heat. Staying warm helps maintain a balance in Vāta in the new mother’s body, which aids a faster recovery.

This also prevents the new mom from catching a cold, which could have a bad impact on the baby's health.

Create a Peaceful and Positive Environment

In Ayurveda, it is highly advised for new mothers to maintain a peaceful and positive environment around them. Maintaining a positive environment keeps any negative energy or bad thoughts at bay. This will also prevent postpartum depression.

The new mothers should also ensure to keep a very soothing and warm ambience while breastfeeding the baby.

Follow the given set of guidelines to keep yourself and your baby healthy. Due to the hormonal changes, the mother might have a flickering mindset and may get bombarded with a series of negative thoughts. During those moments, show faith in yourself and engage in something that distracts your thoughts.

Remain positive and enjoy the precious moments with your little munchkin.