new and postpartum

[Guest guest]

Hi Deana;

You are fortunate to have found Shatavari; not only is it cooling (by

itself not so good postpartum) but it is usually the best postpartum

rejuvenative tonic for especially, female reproductive system and

hormones and best galactagogue (milk production).

 

I buy mine in bulk (powdered) from www.Banyanbotanicals.com, where

you can get organic quality; it is very nice quality and price very

reasonable. I have my clients take it in a blend with a few other

herbs usually, depending upon their individual nature and needs, and

I always add a little cardamom or some other digestive maybe ginger,

maybe clove, maybe cumin, fennel, like that, as Shatavari is a

nutrient dense root, requireing some extra digestive fire. And

postpartum our digestive fire is very weak.

 

How many weeks post are you now? Ayurveda has a very special body of

knowledge for postpartum mothers and babies. I have been very

fortunate to recieve enough of it to have been of service to many

mothers over the last 13 years, and seen what a missing piece this is

in western culture! I hope many more women will learn this wisdom.

 

Martha Oakes

Sacred Window Ayurveda for Mothers and Children

Postpartum AyurDoula Care, Handbook, Training, & Aromatherapy

PO Box 2276, Alachua, FL 32616 - 2276 (352) 378-3660

; ayurveda – open membership and files

www.sacredwindow.com under reconstruction

[Guest guest]

Martha ,

Thank you , your reply post meant very much to my heart. I unfortunatley

did not hear of Ayurvedic medicances or learn of shatavari until I was 7

weeks postpartum.. (it sure would have helped my body handle our colicy

baby much better ) I still cry when I think of how hard that was, and

yes that was our 4th colicy baby But it had been 7 yrs so I had

forgot how hard it was, and the breastfeeding was every hour and half

for 3 months straight for 45 mins at a time 24/7 . I almost ended up

being hospitalized from being so exhausted I fell down the stairs with

our baby

 

I learned of the shatavari through a book I decided to pick up from the

library since my husband wasn't much help at the time and I was trying

to take care of myself and the baby and our other kids at the same time.

He has since changed his tune when I fell down the stairs and is a much

better helper.

 

The lady in the book listed many herbs but shatavari stuck out in my

mind because my body defenately needed some hormonal balance before the

doctors decide I was PPD. Which I wasn't, but only me and my husband

seemed to know that.

 

I have used the shatavari everyday since about 8 weeks postpartum and my

son is 7months old today. I just ran out today too. but the bottles here

run $11 for 75 count pill. If I were to order the dried herb. how much

of it would I take and would I put it into tea or just eat it as part of

a salad??

 

The lady next door to me just had a baby 3 weeks ago and I gave her half

my bottle of shatavari to help her. She is out of it and wants to know

where to get more too ))

 

Herbs and there healing powers is very very new to me. I also learned of

Motherwort from this book. It is WONDERFUL but the only problem is that

it tastes so extremely bad in tincture form. I have to plug my nose to

take the tincture. Yuck.!! Any ideas on both of these would be greatly

appreciated.

 

Hugs

Deana

 

Frugal Family ( Can you spend $75 a week for a family of 5 - I can help

if you need guidance, just send me an email)

Mom of 4 (3 boys, 1 Girl - Bless her Heart and make her strong!)

Wife, Friend, Mentor, Homeschooler, and all the other wonderful jobs

that women today posess at home.

[Guest guest]

Dear

You were still very fortunate to find this herb when you did. It

does help us handle things better, tho it does not help directly for

baby to reverse the colic. You may be interested in the articles at

the open group, perinatalayurveda on the topic (see files,

Happy Baby Tummies, like that). Oh my, 4 colicy babies. I do my

best not to think too much about what it must be like, as just a few

minutes of unconsolable crying (which so commonly goes on for hours

every day for months) is so heartbreaking.

 

You will not be happy to know that even breastfeeding so often ...

every hour and half contributes to the colic. It is because babies,

like adults, who eat while partially digested food is in their

stomach, don't feel so good afterwords. It confuses the body with

teh two stages of feeding, and creates many incomplete products of

digestion, leading to more complications short and long term,

including of course mega gas.

 

No wonder, breastfeeding so constantly for so many days/months, you

were so exhausted. It is unfortunate that this knowledge is not

shared by the La Leche League or alternative western health

practitioners; on the contrary recommending you console your baby

with more food. It actually can create eating disorders, encouraging

emotional satisfaction that way. Of course, you do everything you

can to make baby happy, and in the early days and months they have

sucking need beyond nourishment, which has to do with coordinating

the brain hemispheres and giving bliss, balance energetically.

 

The book you found at the library must have been well most likely

from a dear midwife named Robin Lim? She does have a nice chapter or

two on ayurveda, but completely misses the point on postpartum

maternal dietary factors. I am upset with her, dear personally as

she is to me, because I gave her a copy of my manuscript to read.

 

The three keys for avoiding problems (depression, colic,

constipation, sleep problems, digestion, etc) are 1) Mothering the

mother - rest, and TLC. 2) Dailyl massage for Mother as well as

baby - ayurvedic style very oily and warm, and in this case extra

soothing, graceful and gentle. 3) Dietary. Again I refer to the

documents/files as above.

For turning around depression in my experience, add two more keys 4)

personalized herbals 5) therapeutic grade essential oils. Colic, the

dietary shifts are so key, and if formula, many factors. Essential

oils and herbs are also very helpful, as is Infant massage well

documented to help, heat treatments, and yes it takes some time.

About 3 weeks for the accumulations to become colic, often weeks to

correct though comforts can come before. No one thing will fix, and

no instant fixes for chronic violation the laws of our own nature.

It is a great gift this knowledge is beginning to be available to our

culture, so long so pioneer/do it yourself based.

 

Please do not eat salads if you or baby is gassy, it is a BIG problem

in early postpartum. The shatavari is best delivered into deeper

tissues by hydrating well (cook or soak in hot water or boiled milk)

the milk (only organic, NON homoginized, and boiled) must have a

little cardamom, clove, ginger, or similar digestive in it (cinnamon

won't do the same) this is for both the milk and the nutrient dense

herb of shatavari. Take 1/2 - 2/3 tsp two times a day is what I

would start with, combining a lilttle ashwaghanda, jatamamsi and

brahmi in equal parts or so would also be even better. About a

teaspoon total is probably good, plus or minus. Sweeten to taste

with appropriate sweetener (don't cook honey please, and of course

avoid white refined sugar).

 

Banyan's pound of Shatavari powder is maybe $20. That will go quite

a ways for you and your neighbor, but please encourage her to look

also at the referred to site free info, or order my parent's handbook

it is cheap and will save much trouble. The herbs help, but are

definitely a fix-all. After birth we are in a sacred window when all

tissues and systems are in transition, and the biological mandate is

total reset. But you have to properly support the process. Many

cultures have some of this knowledge, the ones which statistically

don't have problems postpartum.

 

You may also want to read the article published in the July issue I

think of the Light on Ayurveda Journal this year on the postpartum

kayakalpa.

 

Oh re tinctures, not Ayurveda's favorite method of delivery, among

other reasons you loose much of the nutrition found in the

rejuvenative tonics of ayurveda such as shatavari. Motherwort I

don't know so well, except remembering it is quite bitter? Don't use

early postpartum, it will aggravate the already highly aggravated

doshic principle called VATA. I'll leave that discussion to someone

else or the many introductory books on the subject. Except to say

the postpartum vata management requires special modifications.

 

Please forgive my website below will not be properly updated for one

or two more weeks, but the site has much in the files.

 

Peace and Good Health to all MOthers, and through them the rest of

the World;

Martha Oakes

SWA MA CHI

Postpartum AyurDoula Care, Handbook, Training, & Aromatherapy

PO Box 2276, Alachua, FL 32616 - 2276 (352) 378-3660

ayurveda

www.sacredwindow.com