After the Baby is Born: being at home with your newborn

Rest, love, hydrate, nourish

 

The days and weeks after your baby is born can be a mix of many emotions and physical changes.  It is important to allow yourself time to be with your newborn and to ask, and receive the care that both need and deserve.  Here are some guidelines and helpful hints. 

It is helpful to read this before labour, have your partner/support read it, and have it close by after the baby is born.

The first 24 hrs:

·         You should have someone with you for the first 24hrs.

·         Wake your partner to accompany you during trips to the bathroom.

·         If you shower - not too hot, not too long, and have someone either in the bathroom or in       close ear-shot.  It is easy to get dizzy in the shower. If you do get dizzy, sit down and tell someone.

·         Drink lots of water!   Always have a full glass of water beside you.

·         Eat well and often.

In terms of bleeding, you will bleed as if you have your period (or slightly more) in the first few days.    The blood will be heavy and red.  You may also pass clots as big as an egg when you stand up and after lying down for awhile – this is normal.

If you are soaking a pad an hour or less, call care provider immediately.   In order to slow down the bleeding, empty your bladder, nurse the baby, and massage your uterus until firm.

If you have tears or stitches:

·         Swelling is normal and fine in the first day.

·         Take warm sitz baths with healing herbs, or just salt water.

·         Ice packs.

·         Take homeopathic Arnica every few hours.

·         Keep the area dry.   When bleeding slows, try going bottomless – lying on a bottle or chux pad.  Sunlight, even through a window is a great healer.  Also, heat from a lamp can aid healing and feel good.

Breastfeeding:

·         The baby will need to nurse every 1 – 3 hours.  If the baby sleeps longer than 5 hours, wake him/her up to feed.

·         Nurse the baby on demand – this helps to establish good milk supply, flushes the baby’s system of meconium, and helps to relieve engorgement.

·         Assuring a good latch is the best way to ease pain and soreness.  Use your finger to break suction, and start over if the baby is not on correctly.

In order to prevent or reduce nipple soreness, make sure the baby is tummy to tummy with you while you are nursing, has his/her mouth wide open when latching on, and has most of your areola in his/her mouth.  Try different nursing positions to reduce pressure on any one area.  Expose your nipples to air after nursing until dry, and apply olive oil, sweet almond oil, or comfrey root ointment to your nipples.  Sore nipples usually improve over the first week or two postpartum.

 

 

Baby Care:

·         Take the baby’s temperature once every day for the first 3 days after birth.  The normal temperature in a baby’s armpit is 97.6 plus or minus a degree.  If the temp is too warm or too cool, bundle the baby up or remove some clothing accordingly and re-check the temperature.

·         The baby should urinate as least once in the first 24 hrs.  After the milk comes in the number of wet diapers will increase to a minimum of 6-8 wet diapers in a 24 hour period.

·         The baby will pass meconium for the first several days after birth.  This dark and tarry stool can be more easily wiped off if you put olive oil on the baby’s bottom at each diaper change.  As your mild comes in the color and consistency will change to a yellow, less-sticky stool. Olive oil is great, put it all over babies bottom - the meconium will not stick to babies skin.

·         If you choose to treat your baby’s cord stump, the cord will dry, turn brown, and fall off in about a week or so.  Keep it dry, clean and uncovered if possible.

·         The baby should sleep of his or her back or side with a rolled blanket for support.

Call a care provider if:

BABY

·         Temperature is outside the normal range after rechecking it.

·         Does not urinate in the first 24 hours.

·         Does not pass meconium.

·         Skin turns yellow in the first 24 hours.

·         The umbilical cord area becomes red, swollen or has a foul odour.

·         The baby has difficulty breathing or is breathing faster than 60 times per minute.

·         Anything seems troubling or unusual.

 

MOTHER                                    

·         Fever higher than 100.4 degrees F, six hours apart.

·         Flu symptoms present – fever/chills.

·         Persistent headache – not ameliorated by hydration

·         Breast problems – red, painful lumps, red streaks, pain in breast while nursing.

·         Uterine pain – pain in the uterus unrelated to after pains, feeling bruised.  After pains usually occur only in the first 3 days postpartum and increase with nursing, pumping or a full bladder.

·         Perineal problems – worsening or extreme pain, pus, increased swelling, redness or inflammation.

·         Bleeding – saturating one pad in an hour or less.

·         Foul-smelling discharge – pus or discharge that smells infected (it is normal to have lochia that smells stronger than menstrual blood)

·         Depression – severe depression that affects daily functioning and/or leads to obsessive thoughts about harming the baby or yourself.

The days after birth are significant for the mother and child, as they adjust their subtle, emotional and physical energies.  Numerous family-oriented cultures around the globe honour and nurture them both during the first six weeks.  These sacred days set the tone for a comforting and caring relationship among the child and the family, and rejuvenate the mother for breast-feeding, and child care.

 

 

HELPFUL HEALERS:

Compresses can stimulated the flow of milk, preventing it from backing up and becoming infected.   Warm water may be used, but steamed fresh Cabbage leaves or strong Comfrey tea compresses may be helpful.  Keep compresses on for 20 minutes.

Simple teas or infusions of nourishing herbs such as Comfrey, Raspberry leaf, Nettles, Alfalfa or Red Clover encourage a plentiful supply of breast milk and relaxed healthy mother.  The mineral rich nourishing herbs also protect you from mineral loss during the stress of nursing and infant care. 

Comfrey leaf.  Drink in it and sit in it, especially if you have had a perineal tear.   Drinking a cup a day of its infusion builds new cells rapidly and helps alleviate pain.  A sitz bath soothes and heals, keeps the tissues flexible, and holds itching to a minimum.  Other herbs for sitz baths include Yarrow and Witch Hazel.

Breastfeeding is probably the best cure for postpartum depression.  The process helps moderate hormonal swings, increases the endorphin level and allows your body to regain normal hormonal balance slowly and evenly.

Clear-minded, non-drowsy relief from the tension and confusion of overwhelming emotion is the promise of the Motherwort tincture.  Use 5 drops in a glass of water, repeated as needed.   More than 4 doses a day for several weeks may cause you to be dependent on it.

Hops is an excellent herb for increasing and enriching breast milk.  It is also helpful in relieving after-pains.

Air and sunlight are potent healers and perfect infection preventers.  If weather prohibits outdoor sunning, lay your infant in a sunny window.   Call it a sunbath ... closed window sun moments are also effective if the weather is cold.  5-10 min periods!!  Babies skin is sensitive and only needs small amounts of time in direct sun.

Remember to drink lots of water, eat frequently, rest, communicate your needs, and enjoy these precious couple of weeks.

Evening Primrose Oil: Encouraging Cervical Ripening

 

Many midwives use Evening Primrose Oil towards the end of pregnancy to help soften the cervix, shorten labor and prevent the incidence of post-term pregnancies.

Evening primrose is a plant native to North America, it also grows in Europe and parts of the
Southern Hemisphere.  It has yellow flowers that bloom in the evening.  Evening primrose
oil contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA),  which is an essential fatty acid.   Oils which are rich in GLA help regulate and control the production of prostaglandins in the body.   Prostaglandins are necessary to ‘ripen’ or soften the cervix which is an important process for labor to begin.

Prostaglandins also play an important role in cell rejuvenation, regulation of blood pressure, reduction of cholesterol production, and an improvement in the activity of the immune system. In other words, a whole array of benefits!  GLA can also be found in borage oil, black current seed oil and mother’s breastmilk.

 

Dosage:

36-38 weeks   500-1000mg twice daily, orally

 

38-42 weeks   500-1000mg three times daily, orally

 

At 36 weeks until labor
Evening Primrose Oil is also recommended as a vaginal suppository: up to 2000mg capsules can be inserted vaginally close to the cervix before bedtime, larger capsules may be easier to use.  Use a clean pin to puncture a hole in the capsule and insert.  Be sure to wear panty liners.  **do not insert anything vaginally if your membranes have ruptured**


"Your spirit as a woman has all the knowledge and power you need to give birth and nurture your baby." Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa



Pre-Natal Yoga

PRANAYAMA   ASANA   MEDITATION

 

When a woman commits to a yoga practise, she gifts herself with time and an opportunity to listen inwardly.  This time and space allows her to her to deepen her connection with the changes she is going through and with her self and her baby.  This creates an opening for a relationship based on balance, clarity and inner stability.   

Krishnamacharya believed that Yoga was more important to women than men, because it enhanced their health in pregnancy and in giving birth to a healthy child.  The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, meaning to join, to unite.   It means “arriving at a place we have not been before".  In pregnancy, women have the opportunity to experience this in its most true and pure form. 

On a physical level yoga:

• Helps to dissolve fatigue, and boost energy levels.
• Increases endurance, muscle tone and strength
• Promotes circulation and elimination
• Beneficial for posture and alignment
• Helps to balance hormones which can reduce systems like morning sickness and allows for better nutritional absorption
• Breathing techniques and improved nervous system calms the mind and allows for better focus, endurance and pain management

There is a particular type of yoga that I would like to mention because tit is where my roots in Pre-Natal Yoga and Meditation are.   Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, a kundalini practitioner of over 20 years has developed a Pre-Natal Kundalini Yoga and Meditation system called The Khalsa Way.   Kundalini Yoga is the Yoga of Awareness and in Pre-Natal Kundalini Yoga and Meditation classes, a mother is led to the awareness that she truly knows within herself exactly how to bring her baby forth.  She has time for contemplation and exercises that give her strength and clarity and with the idea that the only thing that stands between her and her knowingness is fear, doubt and social, historical conditioning.  The Khalsa Way integrates thousands of years of technology with the latest and most innovative birthing techniques. The effect is an improvement in physical stature, stamina and a heightened mental capacity that can benefit women choosing to birth at home, a birth center or in the hospital.  www.goldenbridgeyoga.com

"The essence of a women is beautiful, bountiful, and blissful.  This pregnancy is a gift to free you in the largest sense by revealing your true nature.  The teaching of Kundalini Yoga is that a woman comes to know, and love herself, radiance shines through to the outside, and we call her beautiful. As she grows to be compassionate, not only of others but to herself, we call her bountiful.  Finally, as she comes to experience the vastness of who she is and what she is capable, we call her blissfull." Gurmuhk Kaur Khalsa, Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful.

One of the most exciting benefits of the practise of yoga is breath awareness.   A good thing to connect with before labor!  Breath is an intrinsic aspect of prana, which is our principle life force.  Prana controls the quality of our life and longevity.   It is the breath of the soul, a bridge between body and mind.  Conscious breathing practises can nourish our spirit and heal even our most spiritual and emotional wounds.  Pranayama encompasses a variety of practices, all of them designed to re-establish the flow of breath and harmony with the rhythms of the universe.  See alternate-nostril breathing exercise.

“She who has control over her breath also has control over her mind.”  From the Chanandogya Upanisha

Yoga and Meditation requires a commitment to the present moment.  Each moment is an opportunity to breath, listen and move into balance.  This enhances mindfulness of the body’s limits and personal responsibility for maintaining comfort. When we are in a yogic state, we are in a state of receptivity from which we can make lasting changes.  In this state of receptivity we can also become in tune from a highly intuitive place.  Our innate knowingness is awakened.  The trust in the birth process is in alignment with the truth that every person on this earth is the manifestation of eons of successful birthing.  The ancient healing art that originated in India is a doorway to self-understanding and a vehicle to unify the mind, body and spirit in the sacred heartbeat of center.  This unification is beyond words; it is the essence that creates the foundation to our core and the path to center.

 

Always a good idea to have music, mantra and chanting on board for your yoga practise and birth!

Snatam Kaur http://youtu.be/XCrl1dKyMB8
Jai Uttal http://youtu.be/Fw8NiEV6qmA
Deval Premal http://youtu.be/ez-slRvBskU

Pre-cautions

• Avoid breath of fire, abdominal strengtheners, jumping.
• Inversions are o.k. if they are already part of your practise.  When breathing becomes heavy they should be stopped.
• A woman in the state of advanced pregnancy is the best judge.  She can assess that certain asanas are not possible due to heaviness in the pelvis and abdomen and consequently the heart.
• Do not hold your breath.
• Watch your blood pressure.
• Drink lots of water

Resources and books:

Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful.  Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
Inner Beauty, Inner Light.  Frederick Leboyer
Health, Healing and Beyond. Yoga and the Living Tradition of Krishnamacharya.  T.K.V Desikachar

 

 

 

Making Pregnancy a Richer Experience

By Anni Daulter

When you look back on your birth experience or reflect on stories you’ve heard from women in your life, how many times can you remember the word ‘sacred’ coming up? Have you ever found yourself wondering why one of life’s most broadly accepted mysteries, or miracles, is so often treated by our modern culture instead as a matter of panic or, more mundanely, a matter of business?

Pregnancy is, in fact, deeply sacred: spiritual, meaningful and life-changing for mother + child, father + family.  The world over is full of ancient ritual that honors this; first with the pregnant mother, recognizing her experience as a rite of passage and honoring its proper elevated place in her life experience. The family is also given space and community support during this time, across the globe and well into the past. A new soul joining the family, whether it is the first or fifth to arrive, is a seminal, unique event in life. For these + so many more reasons, pregnancy is - and should be - a time of reflection, introspection, connection and deep love. That experience deserves to be honored, even in our hectic, technology-driven fast-forward world.

There are as many ways to honor pregnancy as there are women in the world, but also, there are some powerful rituals that we see more than once when we survey birth across cultures and time, and they speak as powerfully to women today as they seem to have spoken for motherhood all along. They take effort – on the part of the mama-to-be and her community, too – but the beautiful part about that is that everyone benefits from the exponential blessings that effort produces.

Often the first and most important step – one that should be sustained once begun, if possible, though pregnancy and birth – is the simple act of sitting with other women. Sitting with women whose stories you can hear and feel is invaluable. From a young woman still dreaming or even fearing her childbearing time to an honored elder mother with years of wisdom earned hard from experience, their stories can and will enrich your own relationship with yourself and your baby during your pregnancy. We can learn so much by listening, by simply circling with others who understand and hearing what they have to say. This in itself is a kind of sacred communion among women, a sharing of memories both fresh and ancient as the earth, and it does nothing less than turn the very soil of your soul, enriching it with each person’s love and intentions for you, as you plant seeds and dreams and plans for your future as a mother and the future of your precious baby. This practice is valuable for all who participate, no matter their place in the life cycle or place in their path, for everyone lends something to one another that cannot have been given elsewhere.

Another practice that sadly often goes unnoticed for many modern women is that of a Blessingway or Mother Blessing ritual. Many of us are fortunate to be given what is often called a “baby shower”, but so often, this event focuses on the coming baby and its needs, not the needs or wants of the mother. Both deserve to be witnessed + honored during this sacred time, and it is nice to take a different set of hours for each, so that everyone’s attention and energy can be focused, if only for a little while, upon the mother bearing the child. This can be as simple a ceremony as asking friends and family to gather and share their wisdom with you to as juicy + delicious an experience as you can handle; since each of these experiences in your life is full of rich, unique time for memories you will always cradle, we say go for broke in the juicy + delicious departments. Invite your community sisters to share their wisdom, but also allow them to share their love: let them honor you with a foot bath and scrumptious salt-rub massage, essential oils, flowers and whispers of your strength and beauty. Soak up the admiration they feel for the sacred time you are living in, and let them bestow you with gifts and adornments. Relish it. If you have never allowed yourself to let down and feel glorious in all your sexy-goddess-gorgeousness in all your life, now is the moment. There is nothing in the wide world more luscious + beautiful than new life, and it is shining through you. That is sacred indeed!

Another oft-neglected but oh-so-important + delicious part of the process of bringing a new life into the world is letting yourself surrender to the fact that you are going to need to accept the help of those who love you. Especially for so many independent and fiercely capable mamas, this is a critical time: both mama + family must be willing to accept any help that their community is kind enough to offer. When someone asks what they can do to help, give them a job! Believe their sincerity; they want to help you or they would not ask. In the process of giving in to the mountain of need there can be in a tender baby’s newborn days, many people are deeply humbled and find themselves forever moved by acts of love they never expected, often from unexpected sources. This is a time of love; why not let the love on in?

Are you a mama craving a deeper drink, a richer experience, a more spiritual way to approach pregnancy + birth support? Sacred Pregnancy, a movement based on the book of the same name by Sacred Movement Visionary Anni Daulter, might just be the answer for you. Sacred Pregnancy has been sharing its vision with passionate birth workers all over the world since last year’s publication, and it is only possible to describe it by saying it is catching on like fire. Women everywhere are hungry for the wisdom and support of other women, and Sacred Pregnancy offers this to every mother, bringing Sacred Pregnancy Classes to cities across the US, Australia, Canada + the globe. Visit www.sacredpregnancy.com to find out more. If you feel pulled by the call of the sacred for all women, or if you are simply looking to get into a deeper connection with yourself, your baby and your family during this amazing time in your life, Sacred Pregnancy is already for you. We’re here waiting. Join us!

Sacred Whisper Toronto: Pre-Natal Yoga at Fireflow YogaThursday nights in ...

Sacred Whisper Toronto: Pre-Natal Yoga at Fireflow YogaThursday nights in ...: Pre-Natal Yoga at Fireflow Yoga Thursday nights in March  6:30 - 7:45pm   Asanas (postures) Pranayama (breathing techniques) Medi...