Mothering the mother - A time of nurturing and healing
Pregnancy is a time when any woman goes to great lengths to tend to her every health need, ensuring to implement healthy habits for optium development of her baby. She will ensure she is eating the right foods, sleeping in the correct position, avoiding harsh chemicals, maintaining her physical fitness among many other considerations. She will also spend many months attending regular appointments to check her wellbeing and the health and development of her unborn child.
Most women after experiencing birth will notice a shift in focus from a healthcare perspective, the woman's health needs becoming secondary to the needs of her newborn baby. Over the weeks following birth, we often find ourselves wrapped up in the beautiful chaos of the fourth trimester, each day turning into another, and before we know it a week has passed. We as mothers are completely dedicated to our child’s needs, but what about meeting our very own health needs?
The female body is incredible in its ability to adapt and go undergo many physiological changes within a 10 month period. Growing a child creates demand, to which our bodies need to adapt. Meeting the nutritional requirements of our growing baby places stress on body systems, our postural alignment and centre of gravity shifts to compensate for a growing belly, the pelvic floor has increased weight placed upon it and fatigue can set in as we struggle to find a comfortable sleeping position, and there may even be some anxiety present. Combine all these symptoms with the experience of childbirth and caring for a newborn which includes, broken sleep cycles, adjusting hormones, changing of emotions and lack of time. All these elements take a considerable toll on the mother’s overall health and wellbeing. And while there is no quick fix, it will take a concentrated effort from the mother to attend to her own recovery, a recovery that will occur over a number of months which she is most likely to succeed with the support of her village.
Postnatal depletion a term coined by “Dr Oscar Serrallaeh” he explores many concepts within his book, which discusses the lack of support for a postnatal mother to allow her grace to heal and return to her pre pregnancy state of health without urgency. He believes there is a snowball effect of all the symptoms experienced within pregnancy, combined with the demands of caring for a newborn, regardless of whether this is your first, second or third child, postnatal depletion can have a cumulative effect when left unattended. A theory that “we can pour from an empty cup”, and when we care for our own needs we deliver the best of ourselves to our baby and family.
This knowledge has been around for centuries, and practiced by our ancestors and still commonly practiced in many cultures today. Women following childbirth are allowed grace to recover, allowed time to bond with their newborn and allowed time without responsibility for chores other than caring for her newborn. They are often fed nutrient dense foods and provided with some type of manual therapy to assist in their recovery.
However, women within western societies are busy prior to having a baby, managing their households, maintaining social connections while building a career and becoming financially secure. Add a newborn to the mix, while physically and emotionally recovering for a major life event, combined with an expectation from a society to ‘bounce back' this in turn creates unrealistic expectations we may hold of ourselves and may lead to complete depletion of the body systems overtime.
Postnatal massage is one of many techniques in providing you the tools to feel the absolute best within a time of chaos. Postnatal massage while working through physical tension commonly experienced, these initial treatments are provided in a way to nurture a new mother, allowing her space to reconnect to the physical body, calm the nervous system, reduce fatigue and improve circulation of blood and oxygen to areas most in need.
Postnatal treatment can commence as soon as bonding is established and has profound effects on the physical and emotional wellbeing of the mother, so beneficial that it should be an essential appointment for the weeks following childbirth. Postnatal massage is always tailored to the mothers needs and treatment aims to harmonise the body and its systems as it adjusts from its pre pregnancy state, while nurturing the mother in a warm and comfortable environment.
The benefits of postnatal massage include:
Ease sore spots & relax muscular tension
Reduce swelling and fluid retention
Increase blood and oxygen flow
Release of oxytocin release
Calms the nervous system
Reduce the severity of baby blues & postnatal depression
Speed up the recovery from birth
Encourages reconnection to abdomen
Increases mother and baby bonding
Rebalance physical body and postural realignment
Not sure if you can make the time to have a massage with a newborn?
No worries, everyone is welcome to bring their baby along to her appointment. We advise to plan ahead and arrive with plenty of time prior to the appointment, allowing much needed time to feed and settle the baby into a pram or capsule before commencing your appointment. Otherwise have a partner or support person accompany you and baby to the appointment, so you can take some time for yourself.
Regardless of which methods you choose for your postnatal recovery, allow yourself space and time to recover. After all it took 9 months to grow a baby, it will take the same if not longer to return to your pre pregnancy self. Keeping in mind your pre-pregnancy self now wears a new hat as a busy MUM.