The Sitting Moon

San Diego, CA. Spring 2016. Conception Wellness is a women's health and wellness clinic. The following is a post for their blog and the opening article to a series on recovery after childbirth.

THE SITTING MOON, PART 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO POSTPARTUM RECOVERY

American Approach

Our modern Western society often demands we be accessible—accessible to work, to family, to friends. This expectation to be ready and available shapes our ideas of success, which in turn infiltrates what we do and how we think as we approach other areas of life. Learning about the practices and traditions of other cultures can help us achieve a balance that benefits not just professional success, but physical, mental, emotional and familial success as well. At Conception Wellness, we believe this balance can be achieved, and subsequent benefits reaped, by redefining the standard Western approach to postpartum recovery.

Dr. Lia Andrews, DAOM, L.Ac., author of The Postpartum Recovery Program, describes postpartum recovery as “a system of diet and lifestyle practices during the first 4-5 weeks after giving birth used to optimize a woman’s recovery and long-term health after childbirth” (49). Andrews notes, and many of the patients at Conception Wellness experience firsthand, however, that Western policies, health standards and societal values make it difficult to participate in this crucial postpartum recovery period.

For instance, in the United States the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees both men and women up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off after the birth or adoption of a child, so long as they work for a public agency or a company of 50+ people. Other restrictions apply, however. To qualify, not only does the company have to be over 50 people, the man or woman must be an employee of a year and have worked 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. These stipulations, along with the fact that the leave is unpaid, make maternity leave an unobtainable amenity for many. Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the United States is one of only five countries in the world that does not mandate paid maternity leave.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also reported in 2011 that nearly 30% of women took no maternity leave, returning to work almost immediately. Due to societal expectations, financial responsibilities and competitive work environments, many new mothers are not getting the rest their bodies require. And while the average maternity leave is approximately 10.3 weeks—a relatively strong statistic—one third of new mothers are receiving no maternity leave whatsoever.

Both Dr. Andrews and Lisa Pugliese, R.N., L.Ac., the founder of Conception Wellness, warn, however, this lack of postpartum recovery comes at a cost. Not taking the time to participate in and follow certain practices of postpartum recovery can lead to low immunity, emotional sensitivity, insomnia and depression in the short term, and obesity, body aches, cold hands and feet, hyperpigmentation (dark spots), wrinkles, loss of libido, premature aging and gynecological disorders later in life.

“Women are depleted after childbirth. In a matter of 24 hours, a woman’s body is completely transformed inside and out. Hormones are adjusted, extreme amounts of blood and fluid are lost, and milk production begins,” Pugliese states.

She further explains that not only has the new mother undergone delivery, she must also adjust after being pregnant for nine months. And while she has undergone exceptional internal physical change, she, too, has undergone tremendous external physical change—she no longer has her pregnancy body, yet she is no closer to her pre-pregnancy body either.

After being flooded with medical care and assistance during their pregnancies, women in the modern Western world are often left to depend on themselves to recover. Hilary Brenhouse of The Daily Beast sums it up well: “The problem is that no one recognizes the new mother as a recuperating person, and she does not see herself as one.”

This is where the dialogue begins.

Eastern Approach

“The postpartum month is a lesson in being, not doing” (Andrews 64).

Traditional Eastern cultures refer to the 4-6 weeks following childbirth as The Sitting Moon. It can also be translated as “Sitting Out the Month,” “Sit the Month,” “Doing the Month” or the “Golden Month.”

In these Eastern cultures, new mothers are instructed against returning to work, participating in their usual social circles, or even assuming basic household activities. These cultures instead recommend new mothers do little to no work whatsoever for the entirety of their four-to-six-week postpartum period. At this time, new mothers ought only feed the baby and focus on reclaiming their health. Hence, The Sitting Moon.

Pugliese and Michelle Siazon, R.N., L.Ac., another practitioner at Conception Wellness, both specialize in traditional Chinese medicine, and their main goal regarding Chinese postpartum traditions is to transform the health of women after childbirth, so she feels physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually renewed.

One of the first steps toward achieving this health renewal is rehabilitating the Qi. The Qi is described as one’s life force or energy, fueling all functions of the body. Blood is said to be the physical materialization of Qi, giving Qi form while Qi gives blood its life. Dr. Andrews mentions that “Blood is also associated with breast milk, and healthy milk production requires strong Blood. For these reasons all postpartum women tend towards Blood deficiency and should nourish Blood as a preventative measure” (39).

In order to nourish and rebuild blood and Qi, Chinese traditions recommend new mothers stay warm and avoid cold, a practice often referred to as "Mother Roasting." Childbirth has opened up the new mother’s body, and because of this, she has lost a lot of heat (and Qi)—and she has also opened up a new space in her abdomen where her child once nested. New mothers can regain this heat, however, through specific diet, environmental practices and other daily routines.

Traditions recommend practices such as keeping your external abdomen warm by wrapping it with a postpartum girdle and keeping your internal abdomen warm by eating hot foods. Traditions also recommend avoiding lifting, stairs, wet hair and cold food/drinks.

Moving Forward

In our modern Western society, many find these practices and guidelines difficult, if not impossible, to follow.

It is the goal of Conception Wellness, then, to guide our discussion on postpartum care toward balance. Our practitioners work to meld Western medicine and Chinese traditions in their everyday practices, and they hope that by bringing these methodologies into the postpartum conversation, new mothers can begin to thoroughly understand what is being recommended and why.

The goal of postpartum care is not to fight the modern approach to pregnancy and birth, but to enhance it.