Diving deeper into postpartum nourishment

I have been feeling called to dive deeper into postpartum care and nourishment, going beyond the practical care that is also important, and into more specialized care that attends to the new postpartum body, heart and spirit. I was delighted when I learned about a postpartum training by an Ecuadorean midwife coming to my neighborhood!

This past weekend, I attended a training on Andean Postpartum Care Rituals by Martha Arotingo from Ecuador. It was lovely to be surrounded by so many women embodying the values of community care. The principals shared this weekend are all rooted in supporting rest, recovery, mental health, bodyfeeding, baby/parent bonding, and aiding the body to “close” after everything has opened to give new life! Especially during the cuarentena, the first 40 days after giving birth.

Marta begins to demonstrate the first step to realigning the uterus - “mantear” with a rebozo.

If you dig, you will find that all around the world and throughout history there are shared principals in tending to the postpartum period. The details may be different, but the themes repeat themselves. There are herbal baths, herbal teas and medicine, massage and warmth being brought to the body, supporting the hips and core with fabric as the abdomen, hips and womb all readjust after having grown and birthed a new life, wearing our babies on our bodies… I came away feeling more confident to integrate this holistic care into my work with my dear clients!

In addition to preparing herbal baths and teas, I can now help realign the uterus, close the joints post birth with Andean postpartum massage, and wrap the hips, offering a deeper level of care rooted in ancestral wisdom.

Marta teaches us how to fold a bedsheet to close the hips with.

Closing the hips with a rebozo and faja.