Monthly Archives: November 2013

Natural Remedy for Postpartum Support

At the start of this week I mentioned mother-warming and that’s what we are going to talk about today for this week’s installment of Natural Remedy for postpartum support.

Cultures from around the world use a tradition of keeping the mother warm after child birth even in the warmer months of the year to protect the uterus and health of the mother. This is ideally done 4-6 days after birth.

Mother warming is a technique used to gently nourish the body, helping to tone the uterus and aid recovery after birth at a time when a woman needs to regain her strength to care for her newborn and establish breast feeding.

Small needles are inserted into points on the body that create a feeling of calm and relaxation. While resting with the needles, the acupuncturist will use a Chinese herb called mugwort over acu-points creating a gentle heat  that puts a lovely warmth through the lower abdominal area.

Benefits can include strengthening the center, promoting lactation, preventing baby blues and boosting energy.

Mothering warming can also be combined with a ceremony known as “closing the bones” where a rebozo is used to gently “squeeze” the body. This helps with energetically realigning the body after birth and can feel very nurturing and soothing. Belly binding is also a nice addition after mother warming is performed to keep the body warm and supported.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TERMS OF USE:
Medical & Health Information

Any information on this blog is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, cure, or treat any illness or disease: it has not been evaluated by the FDA. Neither are the products mentioned on this website meant to do the same: they have been evaluated by the FDA. Information here is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please seek a qualified health professional of your choice when making health choices for yourself or any member of your family – pets included. By proceeding to read articles / posts, look at pictures, watch videos, contact Sarah Canga, and listen to audios you agree and accept these terms.

Natural Medicine Cabinet Essential: Postpartum Support

Yesterday we talked about how the body is depleted after childbirth and susceptible to cold and eating nourishing and warming foods. Today I’d like to talk about placentas. Consuming the placenta after birth is not a new fad, it is something that has been going on in various cultures around the world for quite some time. In the U.S. it became more fashionable to utilize the placenta in the 70s and is often associated with the homebirth movement. According to recent studies women who choose to use consume their placenta for postpartum support in the US are educated, middle class, and have both hospital births and home births. You might be asking yourself why on earth would someone want to do that?!

It is believed that eating the placenta offers support for lactation, prevention of or relief from baby blues, replenishes iron supply from blood loss during birth, stabilizes hormones, reduces after-birth pains, reduces bleeding time after birth and as a way to fight fatigue. Some mothers also use the placenta as a way to transition smoothly when menses returns and when weening. In some cultures the mothers themselves do not use the placenta but instead give it to their own mothers to fight symptoms of menopause.

Traditional Chinese Medicine considers human placenta an herb and is known as Zi He Che and is a warming herb. As a Chinese herb placenta holds the benefits above but has also been historically used to treat infertility, impotence, decreased libido, low back pain, light-headedness, insufficient lactation, chronic wheezing and cough and night sweats to name a few. Because of Zi He Che’s super tonifying nature it is an herb that is not recommended to be taken long term and especially not if you have a fever, inflammation, mastitis etc.

The TCM method of preparing placenta includes steaming it with lemon and fresh ginger and then dehydrating it in strips which are then pulverized and put into capsules and taken for a short period of time.

I am a proponent of utilizing the placenta for postpartum support because it helped me tremendously after having my child. I was at risk for postpartum depression and that was my main reason for seeking a placenta encapsulationist. I was a little leery about taking it from the Eck factor and the first couple of times I would swallow a pill my mind would make me feel like gagging but I felt a difference pretty quickly after I started taking them. In a pill form they look like any other supplement and did not taste like anything. I experienced pretty much all of the benefits of taking my placenta as described above. I found it particularly helpful at calming my emotions when I went back to work and had to leave my daughter.

This past weekend I received a certification of completion from Tranquil Transitions Placenta Training and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about placenta encapsulation, tinctures or salves. I am available to prepare your placenta as well.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TERMS OF USE:
Medical & Health Information

Any information on this blog is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, cure, or treat any illness or disease: it has not been evaluated by the FDA. Neither are the products mentioned on this website meant to do the same: they have been evaluated by the FDA. Information here is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please seek a qualified health professional of your choice when making health choices for yourself or any member of your family – pets included. By proceeding to read articles / posts, look at pictures, watch videos, contact Sarah Canga, and listen to audios you agree and accept these terms.

Roasted Red Pepper Chili with Zucchini and Quinoa

This recipe is a great fall/winter recipe and its also great to eat postpartum. If you are not pregnant or recently had a baby skip the next few paragraphs to go straight to the recipe (and pass on to your pregnant friends). 🙂

This past weekend I took a placenta encapsulation training with Deb Pocica of Tranquil Transitions. The weekend was packed with so much useful information regarding postpartum recovery (and lots of it has nothing to do with placentas!). Since having a child of my own I have become super passionate about “mothering the mother”. We spend so much of our energy as mothers-to-be and society in general on the pregnancy and baby. The period of time following birth is an important time for a new mom to be nurtured so she can recover both physically and emotionally. Even the best of births are still hard work on a body!

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the postpartum period is a time of warming the mother up. This is often referred to in other cultures as mother-warming or mother-roasting but we will talk more about that later this week. It is believed that labor and delivery is depleting and leaves the woman susceptible to illness and cold. If the months following birth are filled with rest and nurture it is believed that a woman can actually heal other imbalances (allergies, eczema etc). If a woman fails to take good care of herself or lacks proper support from family and friends (or postpartum doula) problems such as postpartum depression can arise.

The easiest way to warm the body up is to eat warming and nourishing foods. Warming foods are those that are cooked, red veggies (especially those that “bleed” red like beets), and green leafy veggies are all strengthening especially for nourishing and building blood in Chinese Medicine. Especially the month after birth is an important time to eat homemade soups, chili, and stews. Avoid dairy (especially ice cream), raw foods and ice even in your water. Family and friends are always looking to help so ask some to cook for you or start a freezer stash of foods so you know you will be nourished in the weeks after your birth so you can spend as much time possible snuggling your new baby. 🙂

Here is a recipe to get your freezer stash going. And if you are not pregnant don’t worry this is an excellent fall/winter recipe in general! 🙂

I started with this recipe, below are my adaptations.

Roasted Red Pepper Chili with Zucchini and Quinoa

What you need:

  • 2 red bell peppers (heart/small intestine, {blood nourishing})
  • 4 teaspoons olive oil
  • 3 zucchini (chopped) (liver/gall bladder)
  • 1 medium onion (chopped) (lung/large intestine)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced (lung/large intestine)
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder (warming)
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin (warming)
  • 1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (warming)
  • 1 cup chicken stock (homemade) or water (kidney/urinary bladder)
  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed (lung/large intestine / spleen/stomach)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (kidney/urinary bladder)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (kidney/urinary bladder)
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with chipotles, undrained (I used tomatoes from the garden and roasted with the peppers) (heart/small intestine)
  • 1 15 ounce of white kidney beans (kidney/urinary bladder / lung/large intestine)
  • 1 15 ounce of red kidney beans (kidney/urinary bladder / heart/small intestine)
  • ground beef (organic and hormone free preferably)

Directions:

Preheat broiler

Cut bell peppers and tomatoes in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet, and flatten with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and coarsely chop.

In large pot cook onion and garlic until onions are translucent. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Sprinkle cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper over ground beef. Add zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers. I added an extra sprinkle of all the spices after I added the veggies to the mix. 🙂 Add beans. Cook until veggies are tender.

In a seperate pan pour quinoa and water and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer covered until water is consumed and quinoa is soft. Mix quinoa with meat and veggies.

Enjoy!