Preparing for your postpartum recovery is much more than just buying nipple cream and adult diapers. Yes, that is one part of it (sorry, I wish it wasn’t!!), but in order to truly recover, and even enhance your vitality after birth, you will need to take your postpartum preparations to the next level. In this post you will learn all the essential postpartum must-haves AyurDoulas use every day to ensure their mamas have the best recovery possible.

Postpartum care is a relatively new concept here in the States. In reality, it is a very OLD concept. Many cultures around the world, such as Indian and Chinese, have developed intricate systems of natural postnatal care. Common threads include a lying-in period of 6 weeks, where mother and newborn baby are resting and nesting inside the home, protecting their energy from the outside world. The new mother eats a nourishing postpartum diet with abundant oils, warm, soupy foods and healing herbs and spices. She practices daily belly-wrapping and baby massage. She too receives daily warm oil massage.

Kinda makes you want to have a baby to receive such treatment, am I right?

The truth is, ALL postpartum mothers should have such care. It is truly your birthright. It isn’t about luxury. It’s about healing and recovery.

The body goes through a tremendous amount of stress to birth your baby. Some birthing mothers go days without sleep when delivering their baby (me included). Your body looses a tremendous amount of fluids from the birth and breastfeeding, which depletes your tissues to the max. It is totally necessary to rest and replenish.

Without proper rest, care and nourishment, you could end up birthing chronic health problems as well (we definitely don’t want that!).

Neem ghee is hands down THE BEST KEPT SECRET for hemorrhoids that ever existed! I first came across it  when I had my daughter 18 years ago. I had them BAD and was SO miserable! It was very hard to find and I had to make it myself!

Bitter ghee (tikta ghrita) is truly magical stuff. Definitely at the top of postpartum must-haves. If I had another baby, this would be one of the first things I would buy for my postpartum care kit. It also works wonders for rashes, baby’s peeling skin and acne.

In Ayurveda, daily herbal baths are recommended for the first 6 weeks after birth. Although sitz baths are wonderful, full body herbal bath soaks will offer much deeper benefit.

Some benefits of postpartum herbal bathing include:

• Soothes & heals hemorrhoids

• Soothes & aids the healing of perineal tears

• Helps prevent clogged milk ducts and mastitis

• Eases the pain of engorged breasts

• Relieves sore muscles and post-birth aches and pains

• Eases cramping

• Eliminates or prevents infection

Imagine yourself in heaven lying on this Fomentek hot water bottle! It’s like a mini hot water bed! Trust me…ALL my postpartum clients absolutely love this. It is definitely in the Ayurvedic postpartum must-haves!

I highly recommend the large size, which will cover your entire torso in much-welcomed relief and relaxation. You won’t have trouble sleeping while lying on this! I use this during my postpartum mother’s massage sessions as well.

I highly recommend the large Fomentek for your back. I recommend using a regular rubber hot water bottle for your womb. Use both at the same time daily for best results.

Daily oil massage is one of the most important practices in Ayurvedic postpartum healing. For amazing results, massage both you and your baby with warm ashwagandha bala oil. The fastest and easiest way to heat up your massage oil is with this baby bottle warmer.

Bala and ashwagandha are a powerful strength bestowing combo and is perfect to use on yourself as well as your baby. This oil will give you the strength you need to have a vital postpartum recovery, as well as support your baby to grow healthy and strong.

To learn Ayurvedic postpartum self-massage, click here. To learn Ayurvedic baby massage, click here.

Aromatherapy has a couple of very beneficial uses during your postnatal healing. Using the “thieves” oil blend (sometimes called good samaritan) in your diffuser wards off unwanted germs and boosts the immune system. It is a smart idea to run thieves oil in your diffuser when having guests over, or when your immune system feels compromised. Definitely in postpartum must-haves!

Another more obvious use of aromatherapy for postpartum healing is for relaxation and stress-reduction. I highly recommend lavender essential oil, as well as this anxiety blend for stress-relief and better sleep.

Hingvastak is a traditional Ayurvedic digestive formula that is excellent for rebuilding your digestive strength after birth. The energy expended during the birthing process weakens the digestion significantly. Therefore, taking digestive herbs is necessary to regain a healthy metabolism.

Hingvastak will help you maximize the assimilation and absorption of nutrients from your food. This means better breast milk for your baby and more nutrients your body gets to keep!

 Hingvastak’s pungency will rekindle your digestive fire, while it’s oiliness will coat your intestinal wall, consequently supporting smooth elimination. How to use: take 1/4 teaspoon of hingvastak in 4 oz of warm water before or after meals.

Shatavari, translated as “one hundred husbands”, is a woman’s key to vitality.  This Ayurvedic superfood nourishes the tissues and specifically the female reproductive system. It builds healthy tissue, as well as encourages production of breast milk and a healthy immune system. Shatavari will help you regain your vitality after birth and is a definately in the Ayurvedic postpartum must-haves.

 How to use: This cooling nutritive root is often used in a powdered form and can be added to a warm glass of milk. You can also add it to my mother’s chai recipe for something a little more exciting. For best results, wait 5 days after birth or until you have regained some digestive strength before consuming shatavari.

Dashamula, meaning “ten roots” is a traditional Ayurvedic herbal formula that brings healing to the womb as well as the entire pelvic region. It nourishes the nervous system, calms excess wind (vata) and gently helps with the elimination of toxins from the birth.

I make this womb healing tea for my AyurDoula clients on a daily basis. Definitely in the Ayurvedic postpartum must-haves for your healing after birth. 

Fennel and fenugreek are great herbs for postpartum healing, They are great herbal supports for building a high quality breast milk supply, as well as being an excellent digestive. Great spices to add regularly to your postpartum diet as well as a simple and lovely lactation tea. I use this recipe daily with my AyurDoula clients. Fennel and fenugreek are truly postpartum herbal allies and definately make the postpartum must-haves list!

Programmable slow cookers are a godsend during your postpartum recovery (especially if you don’t have.a postpartum doula or family to help cook). Many programmable slow-cookers have a delay feature that allows you to set it to cook at a time in the future. I use this feature a lot to have my breakfast porridge cook while I sleep! It’s the best!

My absolute favorite programmable slow-cooker is the VitaClay. The cooking pot is made out of organic, unglazed clay. which amplifies flavors, stabilizes textures and increases nutrient bio-availability. It cooks food in half the time as a traditional slow-cooker, as well as being a rice cooker and a yogurt maker. Definitely one of the postpartum must-haves!

  I recommend having 3 insulated beverage containers:

 Your diet for the first six weeks after birth is perhaps the most determining factor in the outcome of your postpartum recovery. There are certain things you must understand about the state of your body and what it needs to heal after birth.

A tremendous amount of heat and transformative energy has been used to birth your baby. Because of this your body, especially your digestion, grows cold. You must nurse your digestive fire back to its regular state by following a healing postpartum diet.

When you are feeling sick, what do you eat? Chicken soup perhaps? Or for vegetarians, kitchari? If you want to get better, you don’t eat enchiladas or lasagna do you? Inherently, you know that isn’t going to help you feel better.

Healing after birth is very similar. You must avoid these types of foods. They are difficult to digest and will impair your recovery, and make your breast milk difficult for your baby to digest as well.

In Ayurveda, there is a science behind a healing postpartum diet. There are specific oils, herbs, spices, proteins, fruits, vegetables and grains that will enable you to not only recover your strength, but become even more vital than you ever were before.

There are also foods that will inhibit your ability to thrive. Understanding these concepts and knowing the best foods and recipes for your recovery and breast milk supply will make all the difference between struggling and thriving postpartum.

Check out these great resources below for healing postpartum recipes!