Acupuncture in Fourth Trimester of Pregnancy

As a personal topic and area of women’s health particularly neglected in Western society, I felt value in discussing the postpartum period, fourth trimester of pregnancy.

After the birth of my second son last year, this has been an area I have explored more thoroughly and different cultures views of transitioning through this last phase of pregnancy for Mother/ Child. Some ‘food for thought’; research has shown the brain changes/ neuro re-pathing seen postpartum to be the equivalent to the brain changes observed during infancy and adolescence. That seeming ‘baby brain’, ‘Mum brain’ perceived as being reduced cognitive function, is actually due to the brain working harder, maintaining the wellbeing of your children, functioning in society and maintaining your own homeostasis, even now currently navigating writing this post I’m tending to an 8 month and 2 year old eating lunch, shows the multi tasking abilities! Shedding light on why some days your brain can literally feel ‘cooked’.

Here is an interesting concept from Chinese Medicine; “The Golden Month' or "One Month’s rest", following giving birth, for the next 28 days women are to rest/ sleep, only to be disturbed to feed the baby and eat. Immediately after birth is seen as a very vulnerable time for women; due to extreme loss of energy and blood resulting in the body being very susceptible to illness, if this prevails it could create a chronic lifelong illness. This period of time is also viewed as an opportunity, which can really establish good health for the new mother and establish a strong constitution. The windows in the room are all sealed with plastic, any cracks and gaps filled- the emphasis is that no draft is allowed to penetrate the room. All personal cleaning during the initial 2 weeks is 'steam baths', eventually the woman is allowed to bathe but it’s in the hottest water tolerable. At no point during these 4 weeks is the woman to experience cold and wind. Highly nourishing foods are consumed; bone broths and strews, it is recommended to avoid raw or cold foods as this requires more energy/ Yang for the body to digest, in the West we could interpret this as highly bioavailable foods, animal meat/ collagen fibers to replenish iron and repair tissues, additionally supporting milk production. Chinese herbs and Acupuncture are also utilised for hormone regulation, energy, milk production tissue repair and emotional support. 

A lot of us don’t have this luxury postpartum, but it pays to bear in mind the stress and pressure put upon women to be immediately back into day to day routines, exercise and even working for some! Are we creating health problems for ourselves later in life? The opportunity to maybe take life slower for the first 28 days could be optimal for mother’s health long term. It also provides a beautiful time to bond with baby. With my first baby I was able to adapt parts of this, unfortunately not having the luxury to completely embrace all elements, but food was a particular focus along with Chinese herbs/ Acupuncture and really forcing upon myself not to leave the house took discipline, kept my feet, lower back and abdomen warm, sleeping when the baby slept and moving gently through this new space. My more recent pregnancy I didn’t have the opportunity to immerse myself quite the same into that ‘Golden Month’ space, but still incorporated good nutrition and Acupuncture/ Herbs for recovery, unsurprisingly I didn’t quite bounce back like I did with my first, but was still very fortunate in many ways, we just have to adapt things as well as we can to our own situations/ family dynamics.

We as Mothers are not given enough credit for the exception capacities we have and the tremendous job it can be at times, to completely metamorphosis from woman into ‘the Mother’, I frequently comment it can be a really tough job but fortunately the love is so strong, it’s the perfect creation of balance.

#pregnancy #postpartum #forthtrimester #goldenmonth #prebirth ²kĥ5