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The Importance of Rest in Postpartum Care Postnal Recovery Newborn Baby

The Importance of Rest in Postpartum Care

The Importance of Rest in Postpartum Care Postnal Recovery Newborn Baby

The Importance of Rest in Postpartum Care

 

Over the weekend I started a four month immersion course called Yin Sanctuary and it really reminded me of the importance of rest in postpartum care.

The course is all about learning ancient wisdom, herbal medicine and ancestral traditional ways of postpartum care from the elders.

The day started with learning how to cook a Ayurvedic Meal for lunch which was put in the slow cooker, filled with vegetables and herbs. Then we learnt a traditional Japanese breakfast which consisted of miso soup and egg whilst layered in the most beautiful herbs.

It was incredible to learn new ways that I never knew existed.

Our very first speaker was matriarchal elder from Kombumerri land…. Cherie.

We started by giving thanks to the land and we got to listen some traditional aboriginal songs.

We heard about the ways that they have given birth in the creek on the Gold Coast that they call in for their traditional Birthing Waters. It was such an amazing experience and I felt so honoured to be part of this and learn.

One of the most important factors of postpartum recovery is rest. This allows your body to heal on its own.

Let’s be honest, the female body is phenomenal. Women’s bodies can create life, house them, grow them and give birth in whichever way baby may arrive .

If we truly take a moment to think about the fact that your body has grown a human inside of you, it’s magical!

Whilst growing a baby, the body enables stretching of the ligaments and structural base of the womb. If you birth a baby naturally, your cervix open for baby to arrive and once baby has arrived within seconds the cervix closes back down again…. this is simply magical.

Here is a photo showing the sizing of the womb. After baby has arrived, the womb is still between 1kg to 1.5 kg, so with that much added weight inside your body, rest is even more important.

 

Womb Sizing Postnatal Recovery Post Part Healing

 

Your body goes through a lot of work in those nine months and we need to allow it to simply rest once your baby has arrived.

Rest will allow your body to heal by itself in time, so if you can try to rest for three weeks postpartum.

My advice is to start organising your postpartum plan whilst you are pregnant. Arrange some support to look after your other children, organise who will cook food and bring it to you and do the cleaning and the laundry.

We truly need to honour our body and give it time to heal.

During the rest phase,  you’re also creating a bond with your baby which is so incredibly special and also needed for your baby’s social and developmental skills later in life.

Bonding and attachment is vital for both mama and baby’s wellness, physically and mentally.

So while you get to heal and be with your baby in bed for those three weeks you’re also creating the foundation for your baby at the same time.

The saying ‘it takes a village‘ is so true.

Pregnancy, birth and postpartum is such a sacred journey and we should honour it in the simplest yet most effective way…… with rest.

You might also like to read Your Holistic Postnatal Recovery Checklist.

Much love,

Jess Ngaheu Pregnancy and Post Natal Massage Specialist

Jess Ngaheu
Maternal Bodywork Specialist

Book a session with me here. 

Hoslitic Postnatal Postpartum Recovery

Your Holistic Post Natal Recovery Checklist

Holistic Postnatal Postpartum Recovery

Your Holistic Post Natal Recovery Checklist

 

A nourishing post natal period has so many benefits, for both mama and baby, so today I wanted to share your holistic post natal recovery checklist with some things I think are imperative for EVERY mama.

Centuries ago the recovery phase for postpartum was HUGE! So much was given to the mother to recover. Everything was taken care of in the home when the baby arrived so the mother and baby could bond, rest and recover.

Mamas were given massages daily and nutritious food was cooked to help repair the postpartum body. Our bodies go through so much change, physically, emotionally and spiritually to give birth to a baby.

Whether baby has arrived vaginally, caesarean or assisted…..mums need to be taken care of!  Somewhere along the way this precious healing time has been lost in the expectation that we need to bounce back and get on with life. In fact, without adequate recovery, you can risk adrenal burnout, heavy bleeding, breast infections and postpartum depression.

I love that there is gradually more awareness and respect for the postpartum recovery and mamas are starting to look after them selves during this period. I also think it’s important to have a holistic perspective to the fourth trimester as birthing is such a whole mind, body and soul experience!

So, here are some things I think are great to think about for your post natal recovery checklist:

Rest

This one might be obvious, but it’s maybe the most important. I am talking about full bed rest and lots of sleep here, not just ‘taking it easy.’ Many Eastern cultures have a tradition of six weeks of absolute bed rest after you give birth! However, I do recommend a little gentle movement in addition to your rest.

Water

Hydration is incredibly important as labour causes a lot of water loss in the body. It also helps with breastfeeding, preventing constipation and repairing the body. You might want to have Postpartum Healing Herbal Tea as some of your water quota.

Nutrition

It’s incredibly important to eat nourishing, warm, nutrient-dense foods in your fourth trimester. There are some great resources around including the book The First Forty Days by Heng Ou.

Foods like bone broth, soups, stews, good sources of protein and eggs and healthy, whole foods are vital. Check out these Postpartum Healing Bone Broth Powder and Strips that have been specially formulated with herbs and foods for post natal nourishment. Bliss balls and trail mix make great snacks!

 

Postnatal postpartum bodywork specialist Gold Coast

Bodywork
You knew I was going to say this, didn’t you??? Postnatal massage is so supportive and nurturing and assists your body in the recovery process. Check out my Postnatal Healing Experience – I come to your home for four tailored sessions that include restoring core and pelvic floor, pelvic floor strengthening, breathwork and meditation.

Support

Set up a support team to help you recover! This might look like family and friends to help with housework and cooking while you recover, a postnatal bodywork specialist and a postpartum doula. You can read about one of my mama’s experience here.

Finding a mother’s group can also help you in the months after birth. Surrounding yourself with like-minded mamas can be your saviour!

Herbs

Mother Nature has so many beautiful traditional herbs to help our postnatal recovery. You can drink nourishing herbal tea, use herbs to heal the perineum area as well as using herbal balms on your body.

Nurture

Nurturing yourself and supporting your emotional well-being is also a really important aspect of postnatal healing. While the ‘baby blues’ are normal, it’s important to take care of your mental health.

Becoming a mother is a huge transition and it may bring up all sorts of feelings and emotions.

My Postpartum Flower Essences and Intention Candles are helpful in supporting your emotional wellbeing. Placenta encapsulation can also be helpful for stabilising emotions (as well as physical recovery). Consider meditation and breath work or even just listening to some calming music to keep you relaxed.

Baby Massage

Once your baby is six weeks old, baby massage is one beautiful way you can connect and bond with your new baby and support your mental and emotional wellbeing. There are just so many benefits of baby massage!

My Holistic Baby Massage Classes are starting very soon and I would love to support you and your baby.

 

I would love to hear what else has helped you in your postpartum recovery! What should I add to your holistic postnatal recovery checklist?

Leave me a comment or chat to me on social media.

Much love,

 

Jess Ngaheu Pregnancy and Post Natal Massage Specialist

 

Jess Ngaheu

Maternal Bodywork Specialist

Book a session with me here.

Flower Essences for Motherhood Support

Flower Essences for Motherhood Support

Flower Essences for Motherhood Support

Flower Essences for Motherhood Support

Using flower essences for motherhood support are a great natural remedy to assist with all stages of pregnancy, labour and postpartum.

Flower essences use the energetic imprint of the flowering part of  Australian native plants. Essence from the flower is then stored in filtered water and a very small amount of alcohol to preserve the essence. That’s all they contain. They are very safe to use by anyone with any condition or alongside any medication.

 

Flower Essences for Motherhood Support

 

The part that I think is truly amazing is that flower essences work on the subtle energy field of the body. They work on the emotional, mental and spiritual conditions we hold on to. Essences can help shift the negative emotions, negative thought patterns and beliefs to unlock your full potential and bring about harmony and balance. They can help move stuck, stagnant energy and emotions and restore calm and balance.

I think they are just the most magical holistic healing remedy and the best part is they are made from flowers that are grown from the ground aka Mother Earth. They are plant energy medicine, also known as vibrational remedies.

I have three specially hand-crafted flower essence blends I offer to my mamas. I have commissioned them locally on the Gold Coast from Yogi Tree who makes everything with love, heart and soul.

 

 

In the shop, I have customised flower essence remedies for Pregnancy, Birth/Labour and Postpartum.

You take seven drops under the tongue, morning and night at least thirty minutes away from food, drink and brushing of teeth. You can take them every ten minutes in times of high emotional need as well.

Pregnancy Flower Essence Blend is especially for pregnant mamas to help with confidence, calm, balance, trust in your journey, self love and acceptance.

Labour and Birth Flower Essence Blend is made for mamas in labour and the childbirth process to help with endurance, mother and child connection, openness and grounding.

Postpartum Flower Essence Blend is prepared for mamas who have just given birth to assist with connection, holistic balance, healing, bonding and transformation.

Flower Essences for Motherhood Support

I will work on getting some other ones for motherhood in general and I highly recommend giving them a try.

Daily life can be such a struggle and especially right now with the world turning upside down, we can feel overwhelmed and anxious. The flower essence blends can help keep us grounded, balanced and calm which is what our babies need from us!

You can find out more here.

As always if you have any questions at all, please send get in touch. I am always here!

Much love,

Jess Ngaheu Pregnancy and Post Natal Massage Specialist

Jess Ngaheu 
Maternal Bodywork Specialist

Book a session with me here.

Maternal Grounding’s Healing Balms

Maternal Grounding's Healing BalmsMaternal Grounding’s Healing Balms

How did Maternal Grounding’s Healing Balms come about? When I very first started my business, I really wanted to have amazing services to cater for an entire community of mums and their babies. I also had a dream to share the very products I use and truly believe in and for you to have access to these products in between appointments with me.

It makes me so happy to be able to provide you with these now in my shop, after finding the PERFECT products to use through pregnancy, labour, postnatal, motherhood and on our babies.

I wanted to share with you a little about how I came to finding these.

It actually started when a business friend of mine had her baby and booked me for some deep postnatal healing massages. She posted about it online and then Michelle Palasia (who I am doing the Post Natal Healing Workshop with) contacted me to see if I would be interested in massaging some of her birth and postnatal clients. I, of course, said yes and jumped at this chance as I had just started working again after having a quite a while off after the birth of my son Hawaiki.

Michelle had then also posted about me online and this lead to a lot of new followers and people really seeing and valuing my work.  This then led to Lou from Yogi Tree seeing my work and we formed a connection as we were both working and creating services for mamas.

I got a beautiful new client after Lou had recommended me. Lou is an amazing Placenta Encapsulation Specialist.  I highly recommend jumping on her page on Instagram or her website and get in contact with her if you are interested in this service.

Now after some time I realised that she is also a beautifully creative person that makes the most heavenly products for pregnancy, labour and postnatal mums and babies. So I made an enquiry and was given some testers and as soon as I just felt the jars of balms….. I knew this is exactly what I wanted!

You can literally feel the pure love and energy that she puts into these amazing products. Not only does she hand-make everything, she even grows some of the ingredients she uses herself.

So I wanted to share with you today the divine balms that Lou makes for me for the Maternal Grounding Shop.

I know you will love them as much as I do!

Empowered Birth Balm

Empowered Birth Balm

This beautiful healing Empowered Birth Balm is designed to support mamas during their birthing process. With all natural ingredients, it is totally safe for birthing mamas from 38 weeks.

 

Organic blue cohosh and red raspberry leaf are gently infused into coconut oil and combined with shea butter, local beeswax, jojoba oil and pure essential oils of rose, clary sage, geranium and frankincense.

Lovingly massage this balm into your belly, lower back and hips to support your body in preparation for birth. Use from 38 weeks and throughout your labour and birth process.

Shop here for the Empowered Birth Balm.

 

Postpartum Warming Recovery Balm

 

Postpartum Warming Recovery Balm

This  beautiful healing and nurturing Postpartum Warming Recovery balm is designed to support mamas to recover after the birthing process. With all natural ingredients, it will help boost circulation, ease aches and pains and return heat to the body after labour.

 

Organic lemongrass, ginger, black pepper, fennel, cinnamon and turmeric are gently infused with calendula, comfrey, coconut and almond oils and combined with arnica, shea butter and local beeswax.

While this Warming Recovery balm is perfect for immediately after giving birth, the Postpartum Healing Balm for Mums and Babies is perfect for ongoing use after the recovery period.

Mindfully massage a small amount into the womb-space, lower back and any sore muscles post birth. You can also apply to acupressure points and soles of the feet.

Shop here for the Postpartum Warming Recovery Balm.

Postpartum Healing Balm for Mum & Baby

Postpartum Healing Balm for Mum & Baby

This beautiful Postpartum Healing Balm for Mum and Baby is designed to soothe and heal in the post natal period. With all natural ingredients, it is totally safe for mamas, babies and breastfeeding use.

 

Organic calendula, comfrey and chamomile are slow-infused into coconut, olive and avocado oils and combined with soothing shea butter and local beeswax.
You can apply to any areas of mama or baby’s body that requires soothing and healing. It works well on sore or cracked nipples, the perineum, dry irritated skin, scars, nappy rash and cradle cap.

 

Maternal Grounding’s Healing Balms are truly magical! They are all plant-based, totally natural and made with love especially for mums and babies.

If you have any questions at all about any of the products, please do not hesitate to contact me, as I would love to be share more about how they can support you.

Much love,

 

Jess Ngaheu Pregnancy and Post Natal Massage Specialist

Jess Ngaheu, Maternal Bodywork Specialist

BOOK A SESSION WITH ME HERE

The Importance of Postpartum Care and Support

The Importance of Postpartum Care and Support

The Importance of Postpartum Care and Support

One of the biggest misconceptions that we have around the postnatal period is that we need to get back our pre-baby body and go back to the domestic duties or work straight away! I wanted to share with you today some thoughts about the importance of postpartum care and support. 

Society has warped us in to thinking it’s normal to get straight back into life and ‘get your body back’! I believe we need to slow down and honour this period of time.  We need rest and to spend time in a cocoon-like environment to nurture and honour ourselves and our new baby. 

Family and friends hopefully can come and help take care of the chores and household duties so we can recover from such a transformational experience, whilst nurturing and honouring what our body has been through. 

Those precious moments you have with a new born baby are so important. 

This is also a time when we should be nourishing our body with herbs and nutrients to repair the physiological changes that have just occurred. These changes to our body were not small!  They were huge! Creating and growing a human life inside our bodies is simply remarkable. 

I am currently studying postpartum recovery and something interesting I have learnt is that the first 42 days postpartum is so imperative for support and proper healing as it sets you up for the next 42 years!

Here are some really important things to consider (that I think we all really need to know about postnatal healing):

Mother Nature and Hormones :

Both mother and baby receive the benefits of powerful and restorative hormones such as oxytocin which help in part with bonding. Beta-endorphins act as natural opioids, helping to stabilise stress, reduce fatigue and restore balance. Prolactin helps with lactation. The physical intimacy and closeness that the mother and baby unit experience along with eye contact, nuzzling at the breast and bonding through the physical care of the newborn, enable these hormones to release in the proper amounts thus promoting all of the natural benefits that aid in healing and rebalancing. It’s a perfectly beautiful, natural support system!

Adrenal Burnout:

Unfortunately, it is very common for women to suffer from the effects of adrenal burnout in the post partum period. Some mothers may have had a stressful or long labour and delivery, which is often complicated by unnecessary medical intervention. They may not know the proper knowledge or education relating to post partum care. A lot of this can be then exacerbated if mothers do not rest and recover in the first 42 days. Sometimes if this cycle of fatigue and stress is left unsupported for too long, this can lead to a true clinical state of postpartum depression.

So rest and support in the postpartum period is imperative in so many ways!

I feel such a strong pull to help woman and make a positive difference in today’s society, so I am continuing my studies into postnatal care. I have already studied postnatal healing, nutrition, wellness, massage (the list goes on) and now I am also studying Ayurvedic Post Natal Doula training.

My inspiration is to be of service to postnatal mamas using the teachings of ancient wisdom.  This aspect will help me  create some beautiful offerings for nourishing and restorative postpartum care. 

Much love, 

Jess Ngaheu Pregnancy and Post Natal Massage Specialist

BOOK A SESSION WITH ME HERE

Post Natal Healing Massage Gold Coast

Post Natal Healing – A Client Story

Post Natal Healing – A Client Story


One very special service I offer to mamas is Post Natal Healing. With healing touch as the core, I use my intuition and innate healing ability to nurture and hold space for mamas who have just given birth. 

I wanted to share with you a really incredible Post Natal Healing session I recently experienced with new mama, Brooke, whilst I can still feel every part of it.

As I arrived I could see her in the window holding her precious three week old baby.  Michelle (Brooke’s birth doula) arrived just as I did.

We entered Brooke’s house and the energy was already divine. Brooke herself has the most beautiful energetic presence to her. So much so, that I feel privileged to be near her. ✨

I started setting up in the area in her home where she birthed her baby.  I could already start to feel so much in this space. It was simply beautiful!

Michelle holds new baby Willa, while I prepare to hold space for new mama Brooke. You can see us us here in Michelle’s video on Instagram.

As Brooke entered the room, the aromatherapy oils running through the diffuser helped give her an initial cue to relax as I could feel a slight bit of tension in the air.

I start the session with some breath work to settle the parasympathetic nervous system. I talk to Brooke, letting her know what I am doing and reassuring her that I am holding space for her.

We set the intention for the healing session – this is personal and unique to every individual and will be focused on what you want the outcome of the healing session to be. 

I share with Brooke some affirmations that I want her to repeat to herself during the massage.  As I connect with Brooke, I could feel the tears starting to swell inside of me at this point.

She was infused with Reiki and positive energy and we were ready to start the massage.

A grounding essential oil blend was placed inside her wrists as we started.  Throughout the massage I could feel tension in many areas.

I use love and pure devotion during this time, as well as my healing hands to honour her incredible body.  I can feel the tension and congestion start to relax as Brooke is being supported to come home to herself.

 



Brooke’s entire body was massaged with herbal remedies for healing. I use reflexology, head massage and tummy massage as well. I speak to her body and tell her body how incredible it is and I know I am speaking to her soul.


I could feel a lot of trauma with in the tummy, and there was special time devoted to this area to honour and nourish.  I found out later some of the trauma that has been endured during the birthing process.

This was a very magical treatment!

At the end of a session, I will always express what I feel and discover during the time with my mamas. With Brooke,  all I could feel was that I needed to hold her.

So I did and there were tears from everyone. Space was held with pure love, heart and soul given to this amazing mama.

As always, so much is offered to mamas in the post natal healing sessions. It’s more than just a massage, it is a whole healing and nurturing bodywork experience that reconnects mind, body and spirit. 

I am forever grateful to be a part of mama’s post natal healing. It feels like a treasured gift to be able to help you with your healing and emergence into motherhood. 

I feel that is it incredibly important for all new mamas to rebalance the physiological, emotional and structural changes their body goes through. Nurturing, honouring and nourishing the body is imperative.

When a baby is birthed, so is a new mother. 

If you would like to experience a post natal healing session with me, I would love to hold space for you too. 

Michelle and I are going to do a postnatal workshop together very soon. Join my newsletter list to find out all the details!

You might like to read some other articles here

Much love, 
Jess Ngaheu Pregnancy and Post Natal Massage Specialist

BOOK A SESSION WITH ME HERE

Returning to Exercise after Giving Birth

Returning to Exercise after Giving Birth

Hi Mamas,

Today I thought I would write about my experience of returning to exercise after giving birth.

So, the birth of my daughter, went absolutely nothing to plan, which resulted in an emergency C-Section. (I will save the details for another time).

After a couple of days in hospital being barely able to move, I knew the recovery was going to take a while. The day of being released I was very excited and I couldn’t wait to get my baby home and enjoy this time with my husband and daughter.

I was also looking forward to being given a rehabilitation plan from the doctors on how to recover from a c-section. Well, that certainly didn’t happen and the only information that I got (from a midwife) was, don’t lift anything, don’t drive and don’t put the washing on the line for 6 weeks.

I honestly couldn’t believe that this was the only information that I was being given. Then fast forward to my “6 week check up”, I was told by my GP, that everything was fine and to start doing crunches to strengthen my abdominals up.

What the??

As a qualified personal trainer, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. (BTW, it was definitely this moment that I knew I had to go and further my studies to help all of us mamas out there with the recovery process of pregnancy!)

Anyway, going back to my departure day and barely being able to walk out of the hospital with hardly any information given, I knew this was going to take a while to recover! I was lucky that I had my mama with me for a few weeks to help with all the daily things that needed to be done. Like the washing, cleaning & cooking!

Yes, my mama even made our dinners for my brand new family, every night! Then my husband had time off over the Xmas holidays, so I was fully covered for quite some time to be able to just simply rest.

And yes, thats what I did…. I rested as much as I could to let my body heal properly. As there was one thing my husband said to me “Don’t rush your recovery…. take your time…. and only do things when your body tells you, you can. The last thing you want is to hurt yourself and have to start all over again at square one”.

So along the way, this kept coming back into my head, especially when it was just week two and I thought I could drive. But I knew I couldn’t, as my body took quite a while to heal.

Some days, I would just be walking to the other end of the house and mypPelvis felt like it was tearing apart. It wasn’t until I was ten weeks post partum, that I knew I could start walking again, slowly but surely, I was walking.

For the next 2 months, I was only walking (plus working on my breathing, Kegels and pelvic floor!) as I wanted to slowly build my fitness up and take my time. I started with only being able to walk a few hundred metres to walking 10kms easily with out any pain or niggling feeling around my pelvic area.

So once I had achieved that, I knew I was ready to slowly introduce weights again. (it was fun though, walking nearly every day with my brand new baby in her pram). It was five months post partum, that I slowly introduced this.

I started with just body movements – squats, lunges, pushups… but with no weights. Again, I had to wait a while until I could add the load (weights) as these movements started the pressure and pain in my pelvic area. So once I knew I was ready I started loading my functional movements or as my trainers call it “The Mummy Movements”.

I am now twelve months post partum and I can honestly say, that I am so grateful for my husband planting that seed in my head, to not rush, as you don’t want to have to start all over again!

I listened to my body and took my time to start training again and I have had no issues. If I rushed it and started too early (like I probably would have) ,I bet I wouldn’t even be able to lift my little girl up. After having my baby, it was no longer about being lean and looking my best.

It is now all about my baby girl and just simply becoming strong and being able to keep up with her. I want to be able to do everything with her and being strong, healthy and fit is a big part of it.

Thank you for reading and making it this far. Keep an eye out on my social media pages and blog as I will continue to share parts of my training with you. And please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about returning to exercise!

You might like to read my other articles here.

Much love,

Jess Ngaheu Pregnancy and Post Natal Massage Specialist

Book A Session With Me Here