Postpartum and Acupuncture

Springtime feels extra special this year as I’m coming out of the newborn bubble. Bees, flowers, and trees are coming alive as my baby is learning to roll and laugh. It is such a beautiful time, and also a time full of friction and growth. As I reflect on the past few months, I am processing the massive change that has happened in my life over this winter and waking up to who I am in this new chapter. 

It all feels very relevant for the Liver season, as we call Spring in Chinese Medicine. There is incredible growth, reflected in the season’s element of wood, but with that growth comes growing pains, tangled branches, tender buds. There is vulnerability in becoming something new. This Spring has been in turns gorgeous and dramatic - gorgeous sun one day and hail storms and downpours the next. So it goes in March in the PNW. 

I’d love to share some things I am learning in this transformative time of being postpartum. Postpartum lasts much longer than the broadly generalized 6 or even 12 weeks after birth. In fact, a study just released this month in Nature found that some markers of certain organ functions don’t settle until closer to a year. And “Several measurements - including a marker for inflammation and several indicators of blood health - settled but did not return to their pre-conception levels even after 80 weeks, when the study ended.”

So many parts of our bodies are affected by pregnancy and birth, and there usually isn’t a lot of follow up care. It’s important to get bloodwork done and to take changes in your health and wellbeing seriously. It’s easy to brush symptoms off during such a dynamic time, but iron levels, vitamin d, and thyroid function are all commonly affected in the months after birth. 

This is a time to focus heavily on hydration, healthy fats, and nourishing broths, especially if you are breastfeeding. And to prioritize gentle movement - walking and gentle, postpartum-specific strength training and core work. Acupuncture is hugely beneficial during this time as well, to help soothe the strain of sleep loss, to heal systemic inflammation in the body, and to help our joints and muscles settle back into place. Acupuncture is also great for treating C-section scars, breaking up scar tissue to mitigating long term effects of adhesions.

Postpartum providers I love:

Vibrancy and Mendwell - Pelvic floor PT

Tracy So - postpartum massage

Skywolf Mama Wellness - Postpartum Fitness Training

Santosha Pilates - Movement Therapy and Pilates

Rose City Fitness- Pilates

Molly Ellis, ND at Kwan Yin - pelvic floor work and abdominal massage

Bliss Lactation - Chelsea DeSorbo, IBCLC

Jade Chiropractic - Infant Craniosacral (incredibly helpful if baby has a tongue or lip tie)

Books and Resources:

The Fourth Trimester

The Postnatal Depletion Cure

And the Postpartum episode of the Homebirth Midwife Podcast

Recipes I have been enjoying:

Tahini herb sauce (I use 1 bunch of cilantro, 1 bunch of parsley, and 1/2c mint)- I love this sauce on top of roasted sweet potatoes

Creamy white bean soup

It has been so incredible being back in the clinic, seeing and treating many of you, and I can’t wait to continue this new chapter with you all. 

Warmly, 

Melissa Wheeler, LAc

WINTER

While it’s been a mostly dry and sunny winter so far in Portland, it seems the cold has officially found us. Winter time, according to the Huang Di Neijing, is a time where all things in nature go inward, return home, and enter a resting period. During the winter months the yin qi in our environment dominates the yang qi, meaning there is less yang qi available to bolster us. With that in mind, it’s recommended to practice energy conservation. Some ways to put that concept into practice are to lean into gentle exercise practices instead of high intensity exercise that make you produce a lot of sweat, and protect yourself from the cold by wearing a lot of layers and making sure your head and neck are covered while outside. In winter it’s also recommended to get more sleep by getting to bed earlier closer to sunset and rising later with the sunrise. Due to the excess of cold in our environment, it’s best to avoid raw or cold food and drinks. Lean into warming spices like cinnamon and ginger while cooking, drink warm beverages, and eat easy to digest foods like congee or soups. 

Another way to think about winter is through the lens of five phase theory. Winter is associated with the Kidneys. Chinese medical theory Kidney can be thought of as the foundation or savings account of the body, and there are ways to bolster the Qi of this system during the cold months. One way is to eat foods that nourish this phase, those include black sesame seeds, walnuts, black beans, black lentils, goji berries, and adding salt to your foods or electrolytes to your water. The emotion associated with winter is fear, and the way to remedy fear is to practice gratitude. Gratitude in practice could take many forms, it could look like taking a moment before eating a meal to internally or externally express gratitude for your food, starting a small journal where you write down one thing you are grateful for per day, or doing a gratitude-based meditation once (or multiple times) per week. Personally, I’ve been feeling immense gratitude for this community and how much love and kindness comes through the doors at The Mend.

-Emily Costello, LAc

SUMMER

Our acupuncturist, Lili Hodgins has put together some very helpful resources on how to stay cool during these upcoming hot days:

Fun fact: while drinking ice cold water will cool you down internally, it also takes energy for your body to heat the water back up to a manageable level, which is part of why the heat feels like it’s draining us - all that temperature management can be exhausting. 

But there’s an easy resolution: Have a cooling tea instead! You can let it come down to room temperature or even a little colder, while not being ice cold. You can also incorporate more fruit, and electrolytes into your summer time snacking.

Teas: Chrysanthemum, Mint or Green teas are great for this. Chrysanthemum, historically has been the most popular. 

 Interested in why? 

Chrysanthemum: Known as Ju Hua in Chinese, this lovely, soothing flower is a great anti-inflammatory and helps dry eyes, dizziness, irritability and headaches from heat. It has been an incredibly popular choice for cooling teas (drunk warm) for thousands of years.

Mint: Known as Bo He in Chinese, mint also helps release heat, and is great for the eyes, throat and skin, and will help cleanse out impurities. 

Green: is a natural antioxidant and anti inflammatory, it’s great for your skin and energy, and a warm green tea will have a soothing effect

Fruits: Watermelon is very cooling, but careful not to overindulge, it can cause an unhappy gut due to how cold it is. It’s hydrating and refreshing though, on a hot summer day! Strawberries are also great at this time - tis the season! Both of these are hydrating, good for blood pressure, and full of vitamin C as well.

Electrolytes: This can be as simple as having a splash of lemon, honey, sea salt and even some ginger in your water, or you can take use an electrolyte supplement. We recommend LMNT as a brand for electrolytes which we always have in stock. If you’ve been out and sweating, and drinking a ton of water, remember you also need to replenish your electrolytes (and preferably not with gatorade) - especially if you have a nagging headache after being in the sun all day. 

And as always, acupuncture is a great tool to help our bodies feel more aligned with the seasons so please reach out or make an appointment if you need any support.

-Lili Hodgins, LAc

SPRING

From the Chinese Medical perspective, our environment has an incredibly significant influence on our health. According to the Huang Di Neijing, one of the foundational clinical texts for Chinese Medicine, there are lifestyle recommendations to follow based on nature and the season you’re in to help you feel your best. Spring is seen as a period of birth, rapid growth, and revitalization. Huang Di states to get outside first thing in the morning and take a stroll to absorb the fresh and invigorating energy of spring. In five element theory each season is associated with an organ group which is in turn associated with a body tissue, emotion, and so on. Spring is associated with the tendons and ligaments, so it’s recommended to do more stretching, Qigong, and/or Taichi to help keep your body more open and pliable. In terms of our emotional experience, spring is associated with a tendency toward anger, frustration, and irritability. Huang Di recommends developing a practice of equanimity to help overcome the natural tendency toward excessive irritability or frustration during this season.

And as always, acupuncture is a great tool to help our bodies feel more aligned with the seasons.

-Emily Costello, LAc