While my family enjoys on of our first true vacations, I am taking advantage of the opportunity to showcase some of my favorite bloggers. The following post is written by Stephanie at Mama and Baby Love. Thank you, Stephanie!
According to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, women who have just given birth are supposed to stay in bed, be waited on hand and foot, and given lots of massages. Pretty awesome, right? They are also supposed to to eat lots of hot soups and stews because they are nutrient dense and easy to digest.
Having an idyllic post partum may seem out of reach, but there are some things you can do to try to get the most rest and nourish your body after the baby comes.
I would definitely hire a post partum doula and schedule a massage, a chiropractic and an acupuncture appointment within the first few weeks. I also highly recommend encapsulating your placenta, or even eat a piece raw if you can. There is really no other way to restore nutrients lost in childbirth and post partum so effectively and efficiently.
In general, Ayurveda states the optimal health can only be achieved when the five elements of the body are in balance. The five elements are earth, fire, wind, space and ether.
Additionally, each person can be categorized into three different doshas. Pitta, Kapha and Vata. Each dosha has a combination of each element within. And each dosha has its own functions.
Vata is composed of air and ether.
Pitta is composed of fire and water.
Kapha is composed of earth and water.
Vata, because it governs all movement, is known as the “queen” of doshas. Childbirth, nervous system function, movement of food through the intestines, elimination of wastes are some of the functions of vata.
Pitta dosha governs digestion, metabolism and production of heat.
The function of kapha dosha is to lubricate joints, mucus production in the airways and in the gut to move food.
Pregnancy aggravates vata as it inhibits the flow or movement of energy that is characteristic of vata.
So because of this new mothers require foods that are vata pacifying and nourishing, grounding and easy to digest.
Soups & Stews For Postpartum Recovery
Hot soups and stews are easy to digest because they have been cooked slowly and both the meat and vegetables are soft and nutrients have been retained. Soups and stews are usually made with a foundation of homemade broths and those are nutritious and healing to anyone, anytime.
Food that is hot is easier to digest, because when foods are cold the stomach has to work harder to bring up the “digestive fires” (technically speaking that would be things like hydrochloric acid) to help digest it.
Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes For Post Partum
Slow cooker freezer meals make perfect post partum meals.
You can assemble and freeze them ahead of time when you are pregnant and wanting to stock your freezer. It’s so easy! It takes me about 2 hours to assemble 6 meals. And they are the perfect post partum delivery meal to bring a friend in need.
For recipe ideas, I highly recommend the book Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes. It’s on sale for a mere $9.99, and you’ll find it very useful.
Then you can easily have your doula, partner or family friend pull a meal out of the freezer in the morning and put it the slow cooker so you have a nourishing soup or stew done in time for dinner. Each meal is pretty large too, so unless you have a huge family, they are all meals you could eat off for several days, further saving time it kitchen.
Stephanie Brandt Cornais is Founder and Creative Director of Mama and Baby Love, a real food, natural parenting and lifestyle blog. She is also the author of From Your Freezer To Your Family, Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes and The Mama and Baby Love Guide to A Conscious Childbearing Year. You can sign up for her email newsletter, or find her on YouTube and Instagram.
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i hope you have a nice vacation, kristen, but i hope you hurry up and come back.
eat my placenta?
really?
not that it would motivate me to do the same, but i am curious to know if this was traditionally done by any people?
I’m not sure about the history of it, but I can assure you it has amazing effects when it comes to preventing postpartum depression and balancing your hormones after birth.. The encapsulation is recommended that is done by dehydrating the placenta rather than heating it up… cause it will loose some of the nutrients.
I just learned about eating the placenta from my midwife. She says women have done that for thousands of years, and still do in remote places. Unfortunately, the doula who used to encapsulate them here in my area isn’t here anymore, so I couldn’t ingest mine. Eating it raw or making a stew or smoothie are just too much for me!!!
Thanks for this reminder! I’m 6 months pregnant and plan to encapsulate my placenta, something I didn’t even know was possible with my first-born in 2009. I plan on using a few of those recipes from the slow cooker post to stock my freezer, and I need to get on it! 🙂
I just ordered the freezer cookbook and grainfree desserts. I thought I was ordering books but it then had me download ebooks. What happened?
Thanks,
Kathy
So great to hear a little airplay for mama’s need to rest and be fed warm stewy foods. It is just that, freezer stews or any foods for that matter, frozen, old foods, as handy as they sound, are pretty guaranteed gas for mama and baby. Gassy digestion means body enzymes/digestion, absorption and assimilation of food is not great, and that rejuvenation, growing, and happy baby tummies are not happening quite so well. Enough for several meals? Definitely guaranteed gas and baby discomforts. This can lead to colic, has with many.
It’s just the way it works, folks. I’ve been doing the Ayurvedic postpartum work for over 20 years, and train women in this work. I’d like to ask Kristin – where did you study? This post, after the first few sentences, misrepresents ayurveda’s amazing gifts for mama-baby, dear One.
There is a parent’s handbook and cookbook set (also E-books, Kathy, us startups have to do this) you can order at the Sacred Window School website, for just $12 which gives more perspective on menu planning by weeks postpartum as well as baby’s first foods. For grass fed dairy, you will be happy to see the power of milk postpartum, properly used. For red meat, we like to see you wait a few weeks, and then start with it in soup and stews, long cooked of course. (You grass fed meat eaters will still have to translate the principles, as the cookbook is mostly vegetarian.) Many mama-babies get constipated with red meats, and some mamas get hot flashy even with the classical Chinese oxbone soup for postpartum. Those living in colder climates will see more red meat used in postpartum traditions, starting with soups and then stews. Warm Regards – Ysha
Great info! May I please know the name of the stew/soup in the pic and possibly the recipe? Many Thanks and have a great vacation!!
Have you any remedies for post natal depression in new mums??? really would be grateful for some advice.
Ayurveda never encourages frozen food. Food loses nutrients after freezing.please don’t advertise your own technique as ayurveda. Fresh soups and stews is what Ayurveda suggests.