Traditional foods for postpartum nourishment

birth postpartum May 18, 2021

This week, in our birth series, we’re delving into the topic of postpartum nourishment with a discussion of recovery nutrition.

The idea of setting aside several weeks or more for postpartum recovery has been standard practice worldwide for many thousands of years. An Ayurvedic text dating back to 400 BCE states that “a new mother should be treated with massage, warm baths, a specific diet and herbal drinks that prevent infection and promote vitality”.

Some cultures believe that if women are neglected during the postpartum period, the adverse effects can remain into her menopausal years and beyond.

Healing in the postpartum period

From a logical perspective, it’s clear that there are significant shifts going on during this period, however far too many of us underestimate the impact of these changes on the new mother and consequently, our expectations during this time are often mismatched.

All women in the postpartum period are effectively healing many...

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The untold benefits of homebirth

birth homebirth May 04, 2021

We’re midway through a series on birth and this week I’m addressing the topic of homebirth. As someone who was lucky enough to birth two children at home, this is the information – or at least a small portion of it – that I wish I’d had access to before embarking on my homebirth journey.

You may remember Noni Hazelhurst’s 2016 Logies hall of fame induction speech where she mentioned that the greatest joys of her life to date were the homebirths of her two sons. I watched that speech having had my first taste of homebirth only a few months prior and was happy to see a moment of public recognition for such a misunderstood and sadly, taboo topic.

Understanding homebirth

Due to our cultural bias towards medicalised birth in this country, the decision to birth at home with a private midwife was not one I could take lightly at the outset. Approximately 0.3% of births take place this way in Australia and only 0.1% in New South Wales. Whilst the rates are...

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