In Chinese Medicine, postpartum is often referred to as the “Fourth Trimester” or "Golden Month," a sacred time when a woman’s body is in its most receptive state for recovery and rejuvenation. During this period, the door is wide open for deep healing. It’s a time when nourishment is key to replenishing the Qi (vital energy) and Blood lost during childbirth. How you care for yourself in these weeks can lay the foundation not only for your current well-being but for your long-term vitality as well.
“The Fourth Trimester” or “Golden Month”
Think of this time as a cocooning phase—where your body and spirit are soft and open, allowing for a transformation that’s as much energetic as it is physical. According to ancient wisdom, this window of time offers a profound opportunity to heal, grow, and also to address imbalances that may have been present even before pregnancy.
There’s a saying in Chinese Medicine that the weeks following birth are when a woman has the chance to recover from the years before—and set the stage for years to come.
Nutrition Support: Nourishing Your Postpartum Body
Postpartum recovery is all about replenishing the stores you used to create and birth your baby, focusing on foods that are rich in nutrients to support healing, energy, and overall rejuvenation.
Food is more than just sustenance—it’s a form of medicine. The foods you choose during this period have the power to accelerate your healing or, conversely, slow it down.
In this window of healing, it’s important to nourish yourself with foods that are warming, grounding, and rich in properties that build and restore Qi, Yin, Blood and Yang. Here are some gentle nutrition tips, rooted in ancient wisdom, to help your body truly thrive during this Fourth Trimester:
(And please resist the urge or pressure to “get your body back.” This is an incredibly harmful concept that doesn’t support the reality that your body has just birthed a being… there is no going “back”—you are an entirely new woman—a mother—and honoring the magnitude of your experience will support your blooming into motherhood, rather than trying to shrink back into who you were “before.”)
- Healthy Fats: Fats are deeply nourishing and essential for hormonal balance and brain function, which is particularly important when you're caring for a newborn. Prioritize organic, nutrient-dense fats like:
- Ghee or clarified butter: A staple in many traditional healing diets, ghee is warming and supports digestion, which can be weakened post-birth.
- Avocados: Cooling yet nutrient-rich, they offer healthy fats while also being easy to digest.
- Bone broth: Packed with collagen and fat, bone broth is a must for postpartum recovery, promoting deep nourishment and tissue healing.
- Organic Proteins: Protein is essential for tissue repair, energy, and maintaining muscle tone postpartum. Look for organic, free-range options to ensure you're getting the best quality:
- Organic dark meat chicken, duck and turkey: Easily digestible and Qi-building, these meats provide the warmth and sustenance that nourish blood and yin.
- Grass-fed beef, bison and elk: Rich in iron and blood-building properties, they are excellent choices for replenishing blood and yang depleted during pregnancy and childbirth..
- Eggs: Eggs are a symbol of fertility and creation and are used in many traditional postpartum diets to help rejuvenate the mother's body.
- Fruits and Vegetables: Fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables provide vitamins and minerals supportive for recovery. Focus on cooked vegetables, as raw foods are often too energetically cooling for postpartum healing:
- Root vegetables: Carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets are grounding and warming, perfect for replenishing your Qi and Blood and keeping you grounded.
- Leafy greens: Spinach, kale, and Swiss chard help nourish the blood, while still being easy to digest, especially when cooked.
- Berries: Rich in antioxidants, berries can support cellular repair and boost energy.
Rest and Recovery: Honoring Your Postpartum Needs
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Supporting Restful Sleep: Sleep can often be the most challenging change for new parents. Take naps when your baby sleeps and, if possible, ask for help from friends, family, or postpartum doulas so you can get stretches of uninterrupted sleep. Keeping your baby close to you, ideally co-sleeping, can minimize the difficulty of middle of the night wake-ups.
- Create a Restful Environment: Turning your bedroom into a sanctuary will support both yours and baby’s sleep.Soft lighting, calming scents like lavender, and minimizing electronics help signal your body that it's time for deep rest.
- Nourish Your Shen (Spirit): In Chinese Medicine, the heart houses the Shen (spirit), which can become unsettled after childbirth due to hormonal shifts and the demands of caring for a newborn. Gentle practices like meditation, calming teas—like our New Mama Tea— or acupuncture help soothe the Shen, promoting peace and calm for better rest.
Key Support Tips for Recovery
- Keep Warm: Keeping the body warm—especially your lower back and abdomen—is essential for recovery. Cold environments or foods can deplete your energy, so layering clothes and staying warm are key to rejuvenating your system.
- Gentle Movement: While rest is importantl, gentle stretches, breathing exercises, or light walking help move Qi smoothly through the body, preventing stagnation that can lead to discomfort or emotional imbalance.
- Connection: Motherhood can often feel isolating. Know that we aren’t supposed to do it all alone, or even with just our partner. Reach out for support when you can and know that it really does take a village. If your town has a new mom’s group, these can often be incredibly helpful.
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Breathing & Meditation: Daily breathing exercises or a simple mindfulness practice can help you manage stress, relax, and reconnect with yourself during this new phase.
- On Crying: As a mother, one of the most valuable pieces of advice I received early on—and something I share with new moms whenever I can—is that our role isn’t always to make the crying stop. Once we've ensured our baby is fed, dry, and safe, sometimes our most important job is simply to hold them through their tears, to offer comfort and presence while they navigate their own big feelings. Being with our own feelings while our baby is having big feels is a powerful alchemical practice.
- Gentle Self-Care: Incorporate self-massage with warming oils like our Womb Healing or Womb Warming Oil Blends to soothe your body, help calm your nervous system and heal your womb. Our Lady Bits Sitz Bottom Relief is a soothing blend of organic herbs that helps to heal your "lady bits" post-labor, and is also comforting for those wonderful pregnancy hemorrhoids.
- New Mama Herbal Blend for Postpartum Healing and Recovery: Herbs have been used for centuries to support healing and recovery in postpartum care. Wisdom of the Womb’s New Mama Herbal Blend is safe to drink while breastfeeding, and works with raspberry leaf, borage and fennel to support womb healing and milk production. This blend reduces stress, nourishes blood, promotes relaxation and boosts the immune system of both mama and baby. This herbal blend can also help to reduce colic in the breast-fed baby.
- Organic Ingredients: Raspberry Leaf, Hibiscus, Chamomile, Red Clover Flower, Skullcap, Elderberries, Nettle Leaf, Alfalfa, Borage Leaf, Fennel, Honey Crystals