Throughout pregnancy, it is important to educate yourself about what to expect during pregnancy and knowing your options for labor and birth. However, a big part of pregnancy needs to be the preparation that is put into the postpartum healing phase directly after the birth. There are many things you can do now in your pregnancy to help make the transition and healing easier, and reading some postpartum books is a great way to start!
Just a brief introduction of what to expect for monthly book insights. These are not reviews on the books, I am merely trying to provide quick insights to help you decide if this is worthy of your time read to help you in preparation for pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and newborn parenting. The basic outline of these insights will be:
-An overview of what the book is about
-Topics that are covered in the book
-Highlights of the book
-Who the ideal reader might be
Let's dive into Healing Your Body Naturally After Childbirth: The New Mother's Guide to Navigating the Fourth Trimester.
Overview
This book definitely focuses on the natural side of healing. The focus is on natural remedies to help heal different aches and ailments that may occur during the postpartum period. In addition, there are various recipes for herbs and teas that you can use as well.
The book is written by Dr. Jolene Brighten, who is a naturopathic doctor, or an ND. Naturopathic doctors by nature are trained to use more natural means when it comes to treatment, such as supplements, vitamins, and herbs. When it does become absolutely medically necessary, they will use medication.
It is a nice change to have an entire book to reference the natural side of postpartum recovery, especially if you are trying to avoid using medications as much as possible. While there are many remedies that you can try, always make sure to consult your doctor if the issue persists or gets worse (as is also stated at the very beginning of the book in their disclaimer).
Topics Covered in the Book
There are a total of 8 sections covered in the book. Each section addresses the common ailment that a mama may experience during her postpartum journey, various techniques to naturally try, vitamins or supplements to take to help reduce symptoms or the risk of having symptoms, and then any herbs or recipes that she recommends using as well.
The sections are:
-Healing Your Breasts and Breastfeeding Support
-Healing Your Vagina Naturally
-Sex, Libido, and Intimacy
-Healing Your Digestion Naturally
-Healing Your Mood Naturally
-Healing Your Thyroid and Adrenals Naturally
-Mama Self Care
-Nourishing Your Body: Nutrition for New Moms
At the end of the book there are also 3 appendices:
-Recipies
-Daily Nutrient Requirements for Lactation vs. Pregnancy
-Resources
Highlights of the Book
Some of the highlights include:
-Recipes for teas
-Natural methods to help soothe aches that you can easily try at home first, such as a warm shower or compress for engorgement
-Explanation as to why your body may be experiencing certain issues and what tests to request from your own doctor
-Foods, vitamins, or even smells that can help certain ailments during postpartum
Who is the Ideal Reader
Anyone who either already sees an ND or wants to try a more natural approach to helping heal their body postpartum will definitely enjoy this book. It is a great reference to have on hand for the various techniques to try (and a great book to have various bookmarks throughout to go back to).