Ayurveda for New Moms

How you care for your healing body influences not only your ability to nurture your child, but also your health for the next few decades.

The first 2 weeks after birth your body goes through immense changes hormonally that also affects your brain and biochemistry. 

In Ayurveda this is described as an increase of vata in new mothers - in Western medicine this corresponds to a serotonin related imbalance:

- Cycling emotions


- Anxiety


- Short attention span

 
- Poor memory


- Dry skin, hair and nails


- Stretch marks


- Stiffness


- Poor circulation


- Fatigue


- Low digestive fire


- Constipation

The above symptoms can quickly be addressed if a daily ritual that caters to the resetting of internal rhythms is started upon. The most important aspect is consistency - it takes approx. 2 weeks to set a new internal rhythm.

An easy thing that you can do right away is to get in the habit of waking your body up with a tea that has healing properties for those ailments your body struggles with as a new mom.

NEW MOM TEA RECIPE

What’s in it?

1 tbsp cumin

Builds healthy digestive capacity, reduces vata

1 tbsp fennel seeds


Builds healthy digestive capacity, encourages breast milk production

1/2 tbsp coriander


Builds healthy digestive capacity, reduces inflammation, clears excess fluids

1 tbsp fenugreek 


Rids the body of excess swelling and water retention and encourages breast milk production

1 tbsp wild yam or licorice

Supports the endocrine system and reproductive tissue in healing; has antiviral properties

1 pinch lavender


Calms the nervous system and is antimicrobial

What to do?

Mix the above dried herbs in 5 cups of boiling water. Let steep 10 minutes. Strain and sip throughout the day in addition to always starting your day with a mug of this healing tea!

What healthy mothers need to know.

Is your baby allergic to breast-milk?

Your baby needs those medium chain 

fatty acids found in abundance in breastmilk.

Everything you eat passes right over 

into your breastmilk,

and thus you're feeding it to your baby too!

Know that regular dairy products rich in casein a1 

cannot be digested by humans 

and contributes to colic in infants!

A lot of people who go gluten free also go on a casein free diet.  Casein is a dairy protein most often associated with cow’s milk consumption.  Gluten/casein free diet (GFCF) is often recommended by holistic practitioners for parents who have children with autism, ADD, and ADHD.  Many of these children tend to see improvement when going gluten free and see additional improvement removing casein.
Now breastfeeding moms are being told that their babies are allergic to their breast-milk - and as a result end up giving them poor milk substitutes that do little to build up a developing brain, unfortunately.

Meaning, you can still inactivate genes of disease later and build health, but had you been given a good fundament, you wouldn't be as vulnerable to triggers.

A child is only allergic to breast-milk, if the mother's diet is rich in casein a1 dairy products as this molecule enters into the breast-milk - one of the biggest contributors to colic in infants. The key is for the mother to eat no dairy or raw dairy from guernsey cows (most other breeds produce casein a1 milk - humans cannot digest well, and it's linked to heart disease).

So get to know your cow!

Reference: J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2012 Jul-Sep;26(3 Suppl):39-42.

Obese during pregnancy increase risk 67% of having child with autism.

You may not be aiming for the cover of a magazine, but if you decide to pack on the pounds excessively during pregnancy, this could have devastating consequences for your offspring - far beyond any vanity concerns for your waistline.

Now here's one good reason to stay in shape for more than vanity reasons; especially if you're even thinking of multiplying yourself and giving your offspring a better future:

New study on women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children.

They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Reference:

J American Academy of Pediatrics. Maternal Metabolic Conditions and Risk for Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Krakowiak P. et al.