Eco-Postnatal Care talk with Valerie Lynn
As both the postpartum recovery and environmental movements gain global recognition I’m finding expecting Mothers are combining their interests and searching for safe, eco-conscious postpartum recovery products that enhance, and speed, their recuperation from pregnancy and childbirth.
Pregnancy is a natural state of a woman’s body and birth is a natural event. However, what should also be understood is:
- Childbirth is a natural trauma to a woman’s body that has after-effects.
- A woman’s body goes through a surge period during the first six weeks after childbirth as the body reverses the physical effects of pregnancy.
A postpartum body’s metabolism temporarily surges up to seven times the normal resting metabolic rate over the first six weeks.1 This is evident through the initial, significant loss of weight during the first three weeks after childbirth. The body is releasing the retained elements of water, fat, and air, it no longer needs to cushion a growing baby. Stabilizing a weakened core through wrapping is key, as it supports the spine, back, and abdomen. By shoring up the core, so it is more vertical than curved or hunched-over, allows the body to release the retained elements not only more efficiently, but at a faster rate. In addition, a vertical core allows for more efficient breastmilk production and let-down, increased energy levels and protects internal organs as they settle back into place.
New Moms don’t realize how much stress is placed on their back through slouching while breastfeeding, picking up their baby and general baby care. One of the top complaints of new Moms is an aching back. During pregnancy, the body releases the relaxin hormone that relaxes and softens the muscles, joints, and ligaments of the core, pelvis, and cervix allowing for the body to adapt to a growing baby and the passage of the baby through the birth canal. Unfortunately, this also increases the risk of inflammation and joint misalignment, which can lead to lower back pain. Relaxin stays in the body for up to three months and is one factor attributed to back pain.
Do me a favor, sit up straight. Feel how good your upper, lower back feels when you pull your shoulders back and engage the muscles along your spine that are not regularly used?
Wrapping of the core for a minimum of six weeks is a key component of recovery from pregnancy and childbirth in many cultures around the world, as the result is a strong, healthy recovery in a shorter time period.
Valerie Lynn is an Eco-Postnatal Care Specialist who has lived abroad for over 20 years in Malaysia, the country with the lowest rates of postpartum mood disorders in the world at just 3%. She naturally, rebalanced herself from postpartum anxiety after her son was born. She is author of The Mommy Plan, Restoring Your Post-Pregnancy Body Naturally, Using Women’s Traditional Wisdom. She trains Eco-Postnatal Care at the Malaysian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City and opened the Post-Pregnancy Wellness Boutique of Los Angeles, in Sherman Oaks, California. www.themommyplan.com
1. Lynn, Valerie, American Pregnancy Association, The Magnificent Maternal Ecosystem – Pre and Post-Birth, May 10, 2017. https://blog.americanpregnancy.org/health-fitness/maternal-ecosystem-pre-and-post-birth/
