Natural Remedies for Postpartum Recovery
The experience of bringing a child into the world leaves even the most prepared woman exhausted. After delivery, you realize how much your body changed during pregnancy and you also become aware that, during the postpartum period, it will gradually return to its normal state. Throughout that period, it’s best to find some allies to help you achieve fast improvements, and in that sense, you can turn to natural remedies for postpartum recovery. These, in addition to healing you, will enhance your recovery process.
When we think of natural remedies, preparations made from herbs and plants immediately come to mind, but in addition to them, physical exercises and ancestral remedies will help you fight against flaccidity, fatigue, and poor circulation.
A healthy routine accompanied by natural remedies and perseverance will help you experience a quick and pleasant recovery. That routine will be the secret that will enhance your improvement during the postpartum period and this definitely has to include adequate nutrition, plenty of rest, and proper hydration.
The most popular natural remedies for postpartum recovery
Soothe your perineum with ice and warm water:
Apply a compress of wrapped ice on the external and inflamed part of your perineum during the first two days after giving birth. By doing so, you’ll be able to reduce the inflammation of the area. To do this, you must wrap ice cubes in a cloth. Starting on the third day, you should apply heat to soothe the perineal area with a washcloth of warm water.
Avoid infections and promote the healing of your wounds:
Boil a handful of calendula and another of St. John’s wort for 10 minutes in a liter of water. Remove the infusion from the heat and let it cool. Strain it and put it in a spray bottle. Apply several spritzes of this boiled water after each visit to the bathroom. You can also add a handful of coarse salt to your daily bathwater, as the salt will help prevent infections.
An episiotomy is a cut in the perineum to facilitate the delivery of the baby. Obviously, it can cause pain and discomfort in the postpartum period. Fortunately, calendula is also useful in these cases according to a study published in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.
According to the cited study, calendula ointment is able to reduce pain after an episiotomy. On the other hand, there’s no scientific evidence to support the use of coarse salt to prevent infection.
Accelerate your recovery and calm your sore muscles:
To make sure bruises heal quickly, you can take Arnica D6 tablets every two hours for the first two days after delivery. Then take the tablets of this homeopathic remedy every four hours. Follow this treatment for a week and say goodbye to pain.
Despite the fact that some studies establish that there is no information on the excretion of arnica in milk, it’s always advisable to consult a specialist.
Relieve pain and tenderness of the nipples:
Dip a rooibos tea bag in two teaspoons of boiling water. Then let the sachets cool down and place them on the nipple, as this will relieve you. Rooibos is a plant of South African origin that has calming effects. It can be applied topically on the skin of both children and adults.
There’s another natural remedy that’s used to alleviate the pain and tenderness of your nipples. Find a leaf or two of cabbage and cut a nipple-size circle in the center of the leaves.
Then, immerse them in boiling water for 10 seconds. Next, dry the excess water and place the cabbage circles, still warm, on your breasts; This will ease any discomfort you may feel as well as stimulate milk production. Change the circles each time you go to feed your baby and continue this routine until you feel better.
There are multiple studies on the use of cabbage leaves to relieve sore nipples. Unfortunately, the conclusions are very mixed, and in some cases, contradictory. While for some women cabbage leaves provide better results when cold, others feel more relief when they’re warm. Ideally, you should try both ways and use the one that provides the most relief.
Reduce bleeding from the uterus or episiotomy:
To alleviate the effects of lochia, which are blood clots expelled by the uterus after childbirth, have a shepherd’s purse tea for the first two days after delivery. Then swap your tea for one made with equal parts raspberry leaves, hackberry, ivy broomrape, and yarrow flowers.
Say goodbye to hemorrhoids:
Soak 4 x 4-inch pieces of gauze in an infusion of witch hazel, which is an astringent herb. Put the moistened gauze on wax paper and freeze it, then place it directly on your hemorrhoid for 10 to 20 minutes. Repeat this routine two or three times a day.
Massage to contract the uterus:
Massaging the abdomen in circles, clockwise, every four hours, will cause your uterus to contract progressively. Perform this technique for two weeks or until the bleeding from your lochia turns pink.
Extra tips for your postpartum recovery
During the postpartum period, you may feel a million different things, including an immense joy at being able to see, caress, and hear your baby as well as terrible fatigue. Why deny it? So, as we advised you at the beginning of this article, in addition to using natural remedies for postpartum recovery, it’s essential that you eat correctly.
You already know that eating well is always important, but it’s especially so at this stage when you must eat with yourself and your baby in mind. Keep in mind that foods with a lot of protein like chicken and lean fish, in addition to the vitamin C found in fruits like grapefruit and oranges help you recover quickly from childbirth.
It’s also good to drink a glass of water or other liquid every hour, especially if you’re breastfeeding. During this stage, you may begin to notice that your hair begins to fall out more than normal. This is due to hormonal changes, which can take up to a year to normalize. To cope with this situation, a new hairstyle can help you.
One more thing, if you feel tearful and have difficulty adjusting to this new stage, seek help. Over time, you’ll realize that this feeling is completely normal, as well as temporary, and that sharing your feelings will help you see situations or problems from another perspective.
You may have seen that a newborn baby demands continuous routines, but those daily routines can make you feel down, sad, or depressed. Break that circle and go out, feel the sunlight on your skin, talk to other mothers, laugh, and enjoy life. You’ll see that leaving the four walls of your home will do you good. In addition, you can help yourself with acupuncture, as this technique of traditional Chinese medicine can be very positive for you.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Amini S, Jafarirad S, Amani R. Postpartum depression and vitamin D: A systematic review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019;59(9):1514-1520.
- Chen Q, Qiu X, Fu A, Han Y. Effect of Prenatal Perineal Massage on Postpartum Perineal Injury and Postpartum Complications: A Meta-Analysis. Comput Math Methods Med. 2022 Jul 14;2022:3315638.
- Francisco AA, De Oliveira SMJV, Steen M, Nobre MRC, De Souza EV. Ice pack induced perineal analgesia after spontaneous vaginal birth: Randomized controlled trial. Women Birth. 2018 Oct;31(5):e334-e340.
- Ghalandari S, Kariman N, Sheikhan Z, Mojab F, Mirzaei M, Shahrahmani H. Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Capsella bursa pastoris on Early Postpartum Hemorrhage: A Clinical Trial Study. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Oct;23(10):794-799.
- Icke S, Genc R. Effect of Foot Massages on Postpartum Comfort and Pain Level of Mothers After Vaginal Delivery: A Randomized Trial. Holist Nurs Pract. 2021 May-Jun 01;35(3):140-149.
- Jahdi F, Khabbaz AH, Kashian M, Taghizadeh M, Haghani H. The impact of calendula ointment on cesarean wound healing: A randomized controlled clinical trial. J Family Med Prim Care. 2018 Sep-Oct;7(5):893-897.
- Khodadad M, Bahadoran P, Kheirabadi GR, Sabzghabaee AM. Can Vitamin B6 Help to Prevent Postpartum Depression? A Randomized Controlled Trial. Int J Prev Med. 2021 Oct 19;12:136.
- Lopez-Gonzalez, D. M., & Kopparapu, A. K. Postpartum Care Of The New Mother. 2020.
- Pachtman Shetty SL, Fogarty S. Massage During Pregnancy and Postpartum. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Sep 1;64(3):648-660.
- Smith AG, Miles VN, Holmes DT, Chen X, Lei W. Clinical Trials, Potential Mechanisms, and Adverse Effects of Arnica as an Adjunct Medication for Pain Management. Medicines (Basel). 2021 Oct 9;8(10):58.
- Strøm, M., Mortensen, E. L., Halldorsson, T. I., Thorsdottir, I., & Olsen, S. F. Fish and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes during pregnancy and risk of postpartum depression: a prospective study based on a large national birth cohort. The American journal of clinical nutrition: 2009; 90(1), 149-155.
