A loved one has approached me recently, newly pregnant, asking questions all things "new mommy." Why did you choose a midwife? What supplements did you take? What were your pregnancy symptoms like, and how did you treat them?
These interactions have caused me to reflect on my own experience as a newly expecting mother, and parent. One memory that came forward immediately was about the fateful day, when I discovered that I myself was expecting, and how immediately I consulted my ayurvedic community. As a student of Ayurveda, I searched high and low for resources from our great teachers past and present. I found very little pertaining to Ayurvedic Wisdom for Pregnancy and Childbirth. Resources I did come across were translated from Indian to English, and said things like,
"If you breathe out of your left nostril while you are making love you will have a boy." Most writings seemed to favor conceiving a boy over a girl.
"Sleeping in the open night air can bring in evil spirits which cause psychiatric disorders."
"Jump backwards on one foot before a full moon..."
I found all of these rituals to be quite interesting, but with little practical application.
It would have been so fantastic to find more information on Ayurvedic Pregnancy and Childbirth. Now that I am in the middle of raising my first child, my passion has shifted to the "Childbirth and babyhood" subjects, for I cannot seem to manage to grasp in detail what my life could possibly be like pre-motherhood. Additionally, it would take me a lifetime to write a book on pregnancy AND child-rearing, so I will start with one...which is nearest and dearest...
Ayurvedic Mommy and Baby care.
I would love to tell you about some of the wonderful ways to apply Ayurvedic principles to your family life. I would love to be a resource for tips, techniques, and reviews on ancient practices, popular products, herbal and homeopathic remedies, bonding and ritual, and how to make the most of this most pivotal, transitional, epic, rewarding time of our lives...those first moments we have from birth to childhood.
There are many texts out there about caring for infants. Month-by-month developmental time lines, doctors advice, etc. I do not wish to reinvent this wheel, or any. My wish is to provide you with tools to have your very own family practice in which you derive wisdom and experience and apply safe, effective remedies for yourself and your babies. I wish to bring to light practices which have been done so routinely for thousands of years in less-commercialized cultures, that they are written off as "common sense" there, yet forgotten here.
So...here I go.
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