POSTPARTUM CARE-
MOTHER & BABY

It is all too common in our society that preconception and pregnancy care is prioritised, yet the period post birth (the fourth trimester), is not. Becoming a mother is an enormous transition, and one we were not meant to endure on our own. Unfortunately, in our western culture, mothers are receiving very little postpartum support, trying to do all the things on their own. We want this to change.

 

We believe postpartum care for mum and bub is vital in the making of a thriving mother, baby and family. 

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Ancient wisdom and traditions respect this transition for mother and baby, and whilst a 'lie in period' where you don't leave the house for 40 days can be a little extreme for some, there are principles we can adapt to make the transition to motherhood easier, and reduce the risk of postpartum depletion later. Postpartum depletion is all too common in our western and civilized world, and we believe this is not OK. We want you to be able to preserve this sacred family time, to recover, to rest, to be nourished and to bond as a new family.

Ancient cultures have promoted and kept sacred four key ideals of postpartum wellness for the new mother: support, rest, warmth and nourishment. From our perspective, navigating the health of the mother and baby in the fourth trimester focuses on these four key ideals alongside the following aims; 

1. Restoring the strength and vitality of the mother.
2. Restoring macro and micronutrient levels if deficient or lost during pregnancy and birthing.
3. Supporting the hormonal transition. Huge hormonal changes are taking place after birth. If hormones are depleted or not in balance, it can heighten feelings of postnatal depression or ‘baby blues’, and postnatal depletion.
4. Ensuring adequate nutritionally dense foods and energy intake for feeding and “mothering”. There are specific nutrients that, if mother doesn’t have adequate intake of, the body will naturally pull from its own stores to make sure breastmilk is always enriched, leaving mum depleted. Additionally, the nutritive demands of sustaining lactation are greater than those of pregnancy, so this must also be taken into account for a breastfeeding mother.
5. Supporting the nervous system.

6. Assisting in the healing of connective tissue post-delivery.
7. Preventing postnatal depression or depletion.

Our team of experienced practitioners are not only here to support mum through the fourth trimester and beyond, but bub too. The first 1,000 days of your child's life is when you can have the biggest impact on their gut and lifelong health. Bacteria that make up the infant gut microbiome train the immune system for tolerance against unfriendly bacteria. If after birth, your baby is colonised with lower numbers of good bacteria and higher numbers of unfriendly bacteria (due to various factors such as c-section vs vaginal birth, early antibiotic use for mum and/or baby, and more), this can increase the risk of allergies or autoimmune diseases down the track. The first year or so of life is when your baby’s gut develops into a digestive and immune system organ. It’s when the gut learns to deal with whatever enters it: helpful nutrients, particles from the environment, friendly and unfriendly microbes and so on (Tiny Health, 2023). This first year of life is vital to set up good practices in terms of baby gut health, baby feeding, mother nutrition, introducing solids (when, what, how etc.) and so much more. 

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Taking care of the mother and baby in this special period after birth, ensuring all these factors are in harmony, is incredibly important; for mother's wellbeing, the baby’s wellbeing, and to optimise mother's fertility for any future pregnancies. Our team at Darling Health are here to provide guidance and specific postpartum treatment recommendations to help mums and bubs thrive during this process. Our team also provides nourishing strategies to help with the breastfeeding journey, if this is the best path for mum and bub. We are strong supporters of the advantages of breastfeeding for both mother and baby, and have very effective herbal and nutritional remedies to improve milk supply when required. Alternatively, if breastfeeding is not an option, we fully support this with zero judgement, and our team will advise and support you around best baby formula's and more.

 

As well as general postpartum support and prevention of postpartum depletion, if you feel completely lost and overwhelmed, or require any further support for breastfeeding issues or other postpartum related health conditions (mastitis, constipation, hair loss, PND etc.), please seek support from our team of experienced practitioners. We can easily help you via phone or video call so you don’t even need to leave the comforts of home.

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It is time for all mothers to feel well supported and nourished after birthing their baby.

We are here to help all mummas of a new baby thrive.