Welcome back!

Hi! Thanks for being here after a long inner winter of silence.

It’s been a long time in the making to offer Mother’s this Ayurvedic postpartum care. It’s interesting how it’s taken a season of it’s own to be steeped in the deep winter of learning, gathering, stewing and feeling ready to share, so welcome!

What’s an Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula?

First let’s talk about the significant change a Mother goes through in pregnancy, birth and postpartum called - Matrescence. Simplified as the rewiring of a Mother’s brain, body and spirit to hold the essence of Motherhood - a dramatic shift in who she is, the maiden steps down and the Mother arrives.

Just as in adolescence we grow from child to now a young adult with reproductive changes coming online, so to does a maiden arrive at the threshold of change into Motherhood, matrescence. The next step along the journey of holding the wisdom of being a woman.

During this transition after birth, women need to be tended to with loving care just as the newborn is taken care of by their Mother.

Here’s a book on Matrescence - Matrescence: On Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood

Next, Ayurveda as an ancient form of lifestyle healing through the scope of the elements, seasons and nourishing the body through food comes into play. All indigenous cultures and peoples had community care for women after birth, with high importance as she brings new life onto earth. Every Mother was tended to with reverence for the miracle of birth and life being brought forward.

Ayurveda shares that each Mother should be tended to for 42 days after birth. At this moment she is in a time of starting anew as she heals from birth. During these 42 days of deep nourishment through food, bodywork, herbal remedies and ceremony she sets her life up for success for the next 42 years. (This sets her up for menopause, so all that is received in the first 42 days guides her for the next life phase of womanhood).

Lastly, this is a reminder that postpartum care is not a luxury it is a necessity. The new Mother also needs to receive care after her birth. She is baby’s life force, so we restore her with upmost reverence. In all cultures around the world, postpartum care was the standard for women. As most sacred ceremonies, they have been forgotten, until now. We see you Mother, we know the journey you went on to bring your baby earthside and now we are here to love you, tend to you and make sure you’re fed the most healing foods.

Imagine ~

A full day of care - Imagine being fully tended to in your early days of postpartum with warming, grounding and nourishing foods and drink delivered to you in bed, while baby sleeps and nurses. We drop in together with a pelvic steam getting a read on how you feel today. Afterwards, we lean into a warming oil bodywork technique called Abhyanga to remove excess Vata energy from birth. Your nervous system regulates through touch of the marma points for relaxation. Once your whole body is oiled, we lovingly wrap your belly in a herbal bind to promote womb healing and tuck you into bed for rest.

Thank you for being here! I am grateful to share this care in-person in Bozeman, MT. You’ll hear from me periodically sharing wisdom of Ayurvedic postpartum care worldwide through this Substack.

Hugs and gratitude,

Brēta

Ayurvedic Turmeric Lactation Chai Recipe

Make this for a new mother in your life. Bonus points for doubling the recipe and storing in the fridge for her!

Adapted recipe from Shelley Rahim

Turmeric Lactation Chai

The warming, grounding spices here are great for healing in postpartum, especially the digestive system. Always keep your drinks warm through the first 42 days after birth to promote healing. Cold slows and shocks the body during this time.

Prep time 5 min. Cook time 30 min Total time 35 min

Serves 2 Equipment Saucepan

Ingredients

• 1 1-2" piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 2 tsp fennel seeds

• 4 whole cloves

• 8 black peppercorns

• 20c ardamom pods, crushed

• 1/2tsp turmeric powder

• 1/2tsp fennugreek leaves (not seeds) - can omit if unavailable

• pinch of saffron threads - optional

• 32oz of whole milk - milk alternatives also work

• 3-4TBS maple syrup

• 2 1/2C water

  
  

Preparation

1. Bring water to a boil in the saucepan while adding the crushed cardamom.

2. Add remaining spices to the water, except the saffron. Bring to a boil.

3. Turn heat down and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the water is reduced to around 1 cup.

4. Add the milk and saffron threads.

5. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for another 2- 5 minutes.

6. Add maple syrup.

7. You can serve right away into a mug with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top or you can store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week.