I told you I would be covering other cultures and how they address the postpartum period. It’s all about recovery ladies and really should be viewed as a time to make yourself even more spectacular. 6,000-year-old Ayurvedic medical texts explain that because a woman’s psycho-physiology is in complete transition for six weeks during the postnatal period, a rare opportunity exists to reset all systems for ideal health. (The photo image is of sesame seeds).

Below is an article I found by Martha Oakes out of Boulder, Colorado. Martha is…

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I couldn’t resist posting this inspirational photo…Maggie Gyllenhaal has moved to my old hood, Park Slope in Brooklyn. Here she is out with her 7 month old, Ramona. What’s amazing are all the bitchy paparazzi blogs… one wrote, “I almost didn’t post these pictures because of the whole breast feeding in public debate, but whatever.  If she’s comfortable enough to do it knowing the paparazzi follow her around, then whatever…”

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The jury seems to be out on how often you should visit your acunpuncturist during pregnancy. Youngja Yoo, RN, L Ac, the lady I visit in New York, believes you should come for a session once every trimester. Youngja worked for many years as a nurse in California and only in her 50s decided to change her career and practice Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is a real inspiration to me — I love the thought of being able to change your career radically later in life and…

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I found this article written by a Chinese woman who lives in Malaysia. She describes her personal experiences during the confinement period following birth. What particularly interests me about other cultures are the way they have very specific guildelines and rules to take care of the recovering mother following childbirth. I feel in the West we do not place enough emphasis on this “fourth trimester” for women and the effect this period can have on a mother’s future wellbeing.

NO BATHING, NO VISITING AND NO DRINKING WATER:
THE CONFINEMENT OF CHINESE MOTHERS
…

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Celia is a wonderful artist who lives in London with her Israeli husband. She grew up in Hong Kong where her father works as a Doctor in Chinese Medicine. After my first pregnancy and before I had overcome my thyroid problems, we all met in New York and went out for tea. I didn’t look very well and told her the pregancy had exhausted me. “Oh, you should try red dates and drink lots of chicken soup,” she said knowingly. I was kind of fascinated, and went off to research…

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I am going to develop this area a lot more, but to help all you westerners understand where my head is going with this, I thought I would let you read Andrew Orr’s article.

Andrew Orr is a fully Qualified Practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is a member of the Australian Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Association. He recently returned from Guangxi, China, where he was working extensively in two major hospitals specializing in care for pregnant women.

Post partum refers to the time after childbirth. Following childbirth a women’s condition is…

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