Post Partum Wellness

Is this for you?

Many mothers are often heard saying that their health has never been quite right after the birth of their child.  This program is designed to rebalance and rebuild the health of the mother after the arduous nine months of pregnancy and labour.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Post Partum Wellness

Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long history of treating Post Partum Conditions, known as ‘Chan Hou Bing‘.    Traditional Chinese Medicine theory affirms that new mothers are highly susceptible to health disorders, due to blood loss and exhaustion during labour.    Practitioners of Chinese Medicine know all to well the implications of post partum conditions such as blood stasis, deficiencies of Qi, blood & yin, and invasion of pathogenic cold and wind.

Even today in Chinese culture, building on the health of women post partum is considered to be highly crucial for their long term health.  Women enter a period of ‘confinement’ where they stay indoors for 30 days and focus on only resting and breastfeeding.  Women in the extended family (the new grandmothers), move in and look after the mother by cooking her tonifying herbal soups and taking care of the new infant.   In Asia, for women without extended family to help, there is access to confinement hospitals and live in confinement nurses.   There is a lot to be learnt from Chinese Culture in this regard.  In the West, there is social pressure on us to be ‘super mums’  who are capable of bouncing back to our pre pregnancy health and bodies in a matter of weeks or months.  There is no focus on resting, and slowly rebuilding.   Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Western world, can help fill this void.

Our program has been used by patients that:

• Understand that their body has been on quite a journey through pregnancy and labour.
• Understand how pregnancy and labour can take a toll on the health of their body and due to this, some women never quite regain their health post partum.
• Would like to be in optimum health so that no health issue is holding them back from parenting well.

What will it do for you?

By following this program you will be focusing on rebuilding your health postpartum and addressing any post labour conditions or concerns.

The Postpartum Wellness program focuses on significantly rebalancing and improving your health through various methods including Acupuncture, Moxibusiton, Traditional Chinese Medicinal herbs and nutritional supplementation. In addition herbal soup recipes can be provided as these are traditionally used in China to rebuild after labour. Dietary advice is a strong component of the program and recipes are recommended to suit your individual requirements.

Insight is provided into a Traditional Chinese Medical view of the importance of lifestyle approaches to postpartum wellness. The program focuses on allowing you to understand how best to follow these to complement the rebuilding and healing processes your body is under.

The Postpartum Wellness Program incorporates weekly Acupuncture. This can prove a useful relaxing tool in helping you adapt to the new role you now find yourself placed in as a brand new mother or as a mother of multiple children. Acupuncture treatments during this program focus on your ability to feel calmer and more balanced with the major life changes a new baby presents.

You may be concerned about areas such as:

• Rebuilding on your health post partum
• Persistent lochia – continued uterine bleeding for more than ten days
• Breastfeeding problems – Engorged breasts, Insufficient milk, Blocked ducts, Mastitis
• Afterpains
• Perineal Discomfort
• Anxiety, stress, mood disorders
• Post caesarean pain management
• Reduction in scarring post caesarean
• Night sweats

What will happen?

The Postpartum Wellness Program consists of weekly 1hr treatments, herbs, nutritional supplements, dietary and lifestyle advice for at least 4 weeks post partum.

Alternatively treatments can be given on a needs basis to address specific postpartum ailments in the month after birth or beyond.

The Post Wellness Program includes:

• An initial detailed health assessment including a review of current health status, diet and nutrition levels
• Education and insight on the Traditional Chinese Medicine view of the need to rebuild postpartum
• Dietary and Lifestyle recommendations and advice. Recipes can be recommended to suit your individual health requirements.
• Weekly Acupuncture treatments to rebuild and rebalance the body
• Individually prescribed Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbal formulas to rebuild the body and rebalance hormones and energies.
• Individually prescribed nutritional supplements to correct any nutritional deficiencies noted
• Treatments are be conducted at my Herston clinic.