Ayurvedic Care for New Moms 🤰

The journey to motherhood is filled with many joys and challenges alike. While bringing a little one into the world and nourishing them is a magical blessing, it can be physically and emotionally taxing on the mother as well.

That’s why ayurveda places great importance on providing extra love and support for women during pregnancy, postpartum and breastfeeding periods. Let’s explore how we can honor the sacred window of new motherhood with ayurvedic wisdom to uplift health, healing, and harmony for the whole family.🚼

Table of Contents

Pregnancy Diet as per Ayurveda

Eating for two during pregnancy comes with a whole new set of dietary considerations. As the baby grows and develops inside you, caloric needs increase but so do the needs for balanced nutrition to ensure both you and baby stay healthy.

🤰Ayurveda takes food choices for pregnancy as seriously as medicine – emphasizing natural, fresh foods to nourish you and baby while avoiding excess sugar, salt and hard to digest items.

The main goals are maintaining strength and immunity, preventing anemia or malnutrition, supporting comfortable weight gain and keeping digestion on track.

Here are some ayurvedic tips for eating during pregnancy:

Focus on sweet, nourishing foods like grains, lentils, dairy, fruits and veggies
Hydrate well – drink lots of liquids through soups, herbal teas etc
Get good fats via ghee, olive oil, nuts/seeds to build cells
Take iron/calcium rich foods like sesame seeds, greens, raisins
Get digestion moving with jeera, ajwain, hing
Avoid heavy fried foods, excess chillies, citrus fruits

This balances all doshas to ensure both maternal and fetal health.🤩

Ayurvedic Herbs Safe during Pregnancy

Many women wonder if they can continue taking herbal supplements for added nourishment once they get pregnant. There are certainly plenty of pregnancy-safe ayurvedic herbs under the guidance of an ayurvedic doctor including:

🌿 Shatavari – estrogen-balancing, builds blood
🌱 Brahmi – relieves stress, improves brain function
🌿 Ashwagandha – mood/hormone/immune booster
💧Amla – high in iron and vitamin C

There are also herbal formulations for common pregnancy woes like stretch marks, leg cramps, nausea etc as well as prenatal vitamins containing ayurvedic ingredients tailored for mothers-to-be! Always check with your OB-gyn before taking any new supplement while expecting.👍🏻

Yoga and Pranayama During Pregnancy 🧘‍♀️

Gentle, modified yoga under experienced guidance can make pregnancy feel more joyful by releasing tensions, improving circulation and building strength for labor. Useful asanas opening the chest and pelvis like Cat/Cow, Basic Backbends, Standing Poses, help with breathing and body positivity.

Avoid overexertion, overstretching or abdominal twists. Finish practice with deep Savasana relaxation. Through the connected breaths of Anulom Vilom and Bhramari pranayama, mothers learn tools to find calm and grounding. Yoga is a beautiful way for pregnant women to commune with their bodies!

Ayurvedic Massage in Pregnancy

Abhyanga or warm oil self-massage has benefits throughout pregnancy for blood flow, lymph drainage, softening, stretching tissues and lowering stress by releasing happy hormones! Using pregnancy-safe oils like coconut, almond, olive recommended by an ayurvedic practitioner brings balancing, nourishing effects to muscles and joints.

Oil helps prevent stretch marks, perineal tears, varicose veins and swelling in hands/feet. New mothers greatly benefit from post-birth ayurvedic Udvartana massage using medicated herbal powders to renew, rejuvenate and support healing internally and externally. 💆‍♀️

Ayurveda for Postpartum Care

The 6 week postpartum period needs special care in ayurveda for women to fully recover their strength after the stress of labor and delivery. There is emphasis on rest, restoring vitality, promoting breast milk flow, healing tissues naturally, fighting infections and balancing hormones.

An ayurvedic confinement diet includes hot, easy to digest nutrition with plenty of bone broths, soups and stews. Wild yam, shatavari support depleted tissues, ashwagandha calms, and haldi detoxifies. Warm oil massages ease swelling and discomforts.

By eliminating household duties, focusing on bonding through skin to skin, nourishing food and herbs, ayurvedic rituals welcome new mothers into a paradigm of slowing down, turning inward and being lovingly taken care of!😍

Ayurveda for Breastfeeding Moms

For many women, breastfeeding their precious little ones comes with its joys along with troubles like dealing with low supply, infections, sore nipples, engorgement or worries about baby getting adequate nutrition.

Ayurveda offers gentle interventions alongside lactation support. Improving nutrition with breast milk boosting spices like jeera, fenugreek, garlic, turmeric and plenty of fluids forms a foundation. Herbs like shatavari, moringa, fennel aid production and flow.

Castor oil eases plugged ducts while aloe vera and coconut oil soothe inflamed skin. Through dietary modifications and galactagogue preparations, ayurvedic medicine helps tackle issues safely to keep moms and babies both healthy and happy during this special bonding time. 🤱👼

Ayurvedic Diet for Breastfeeding Mothers 🥣

According to ayurveda, a lactating mother’s body is still in the recovery process from pregnancy and birth so needs extra replenishing, wholesome foods. These provide the baby with optimum nutrition and prevent deficiencies for the mother like accelerated bone loss due to calcium drain.

Emphasis is on getting enough calories, protein, vitamins from natural sources by including selections from all food groups. Some ayurvedically recommended foods for breastfeeding are:

🥛 Milk/Panir/Cottage Cheese
🥚 Eggs
🍚 Rice and Grains
🍲 Lentils and Dal
🥗 Veggies (leafy greens, bell peppers, broccoli etc)
🍎 Fresh fruits (Bananas, Berries, Pomegranate)
🥜 Nuts/Seeds (Almonds, Walnuts, Flax)
🌶️ Spices – Jeera, Methi, Haldi

Staying hydrated is also super important for making milk so drink plenty of fluids like warm soups, herbal infusions and electrolyte balancing drinks containing chaach, coconut water or fresh juices!

In this manner, new mamas recover their full vitality quickly while their little bundles of joy get the perfect, nature-made nourishment!

Foods to Avoid While Breastfeeding ❌

Just as important to know what to eat during breastfeeding are foods that ought to be avoided either due to potential allergic reaction, gassiness or digestive trouble they may cause the feeding infant. Ayurveda suggests steering clear of common dietary culprits like:

🚫 Dairy – if baby seems uncomfortable after nursing
🚫 Caffeine – leads to cranky baby
🚫 Eggs, seafood, strawberries – may cause allergic skin reactions
🚫 Broccoli, beans – gas inducing
🚫 Anything mom is herself sensitive to

By being vigilant and noting any fussy behavior or skin breakouts, mothers learn what foods they must thoughtfully keep away from for both their health. Maternal diet definitely impacts quality and quantity of breast milk!

In summary the key goals of ayurvedic medicine for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are proper nutrition, gentle cleansing, mental peace, hormone harmony through traditional approaches that uplift the wellbeing of both mother and child at this precious time to lay foundations for a healthy, happy future!

With the right knowledge, you’ll feel empowered, renewed and ready to take on the world with your baby! ❤️

Disclaimer : The techniques described in these articles are not intended as substitutes for professional medical advice or treatment. Consult a physician before trying any new health treatment. Do not stop or change prescribed medications without consulting your healthcare provider. The information provided is for educational purposes only. Results will vary based on individual factors. Always rely on the guidance of a qualified medical professional for any health concerns.

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