Life After Birth: Natural Healing for Post-Partum Problems

Congratulations - you're a mum! But now comes the part nobody really prepares you for: post-birth recovery. Whether it's your first baby or you already have little ones at home, it takes TIME to heal from the birthing process.

In this episode, I'm sharing 4 common post-partum issues and natural ways to support your healing - from perineum and C-section scar care to breastfeeding challenges and postnatal depression.

What you'll learn:

• Natural remedies for perineum tears and C-section scars
• How to boost milk production if breastfeeding
• What to do about mastitis and cracked nipples
• Why postnatal depression is so common (and what to do about it)
• How homeopathy supports post-partum healing

This episode is perfect for you if: You're pregnant and want to prepare for post-partum, you've recently given birth and are struggling, you're supporting someone through their post-partum recovery, or you want natural solutions alongside conventional care.

Having a newborn baby while dealing with post-birth recovery is tiring AND wonderful. You don't have to do it alone.

If you need help with any of these issues, book a free discovery call or join my email list. I'm here to support you through this important time.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Homeopath in Your Pocket, where I help busy working mums discover how to support their family's health with confidence. Hi, I'm your host, Neila Prabhu, a licensed homeopath with 20 years of experience as a pharmacist. As a mum of two girls, I totally understand the juggle of family life firsthand. Each week, I'll share practical, actionable tips that you can use today to support your family's well-being. So let's get started. Congratulations, you're a mum. Whether for the first time or you already have little ones. Now comes the part nobody really prepares you for: the post-birth recovery. It takes time to heal from the birthing process, and there's a reason they call it the fourth trimester. So today I'll be sharing five common postpartum issues and natural ways to heal. From perineum tears to postnatal depression. You don't have to do this alone. So let's get started. Number one, perineum and C-section scar healing. For vaginal births, even non-traumatic birth, the perineum has done a lot of work. So the perineum is the part of your body that's between your anus and your vulva. Tearing is often unavoidable, and sometimes an epesiotomy, which is a cut, is performed. And this is done at a 90-degree angle to your midline. Pain and discomfort can be felt inside and outside, and this can make looking after your little one even harder as well as looking after yourself. For C-section births, it's major abdominal surgery, and it should be treated with respect. It certainly isn't the easy way out or being too poshed to push, and anyone who says this is wrong. Again, there is also pain inside and out, and some people are left with numbness even years later. So, what can we do to help? SITS baths. So these are only a few inches of water deep in the bathtub. So during post-birth recovery, it's only your perineum that is covered by the water, so it's not a full bath. Adding lavender and tea tree essential oils are very soothing, and do this two to three times a day if possible. If you can't do this, you can always put water and lavender and tea tree oil in a spray bottle and spray the area. For C section scars, don't rush the healing, let the body take its time. Homeopathic remedies here can support wound healing, so calendula, staphosagria, and arnica. Number two, not enough milk. So this can be a common problem if you choose to breastfeed. It's incredibly stressful when it happens and you can feel like you're failing, but you're not. What actually happens is that stress can cause your milk to dry up. So here are some tips to actually help. Increase the time that baby spends suckling. So the more the infant suckles, it stimulates milk production. It is a supply and demand system. The baby needs to empty each breast completely every time, and this increases production for the next feed. So there are some foods that boost milk production naturally. Barley, so things like porridge or barley water, fennel in the form of seeds or tea, and papaya. And make sure that you stay hydrated and drink lots of water. When you're breastfeeding, your body is working really hard and you need lots of water to produce that milk. So when to get help. And sometimes you just need reassurance. Breastfeeding is a skill, it is not innate to mum and baby, and it needs to be learnt. And you can have nipple frustration on both sides of the nipple. Number three, mastitis and cracked nipples. Breastfeeding can be a wonderful experience. It's a beautiful bonding, it's great for the baby, it's great for you. But mastitis and cracked nipples can be really painful. I suffered a blister on my nipple the first time round, and that was properly toe curling. So, what is mastitis? Mastitis is inflammation and infection of the breast tissue and the milk ducts. So the breast will be red, hot, swollen, and painful. You can feel feverish or flu-like, but it needs treatment as it can progress to an abscess if it's ignored. So natural support for mastitis is the cabbage leaf trick. Yep, you heard me right. Whole, lightly bruised cabbage leaves in your bra. They contain antioxidants that increase blood flow to the area, and red cabbage works best. Sounds odd, but it works brilliantly. So replace the leaf when it becomes wilted. Obviously, do not use if you're allergic to cabbage. I can't help you with the red cabbage staining your bras, I'm afraid. Getting the right latch position, this is so important. The trained breastfeeding counsellor will be a game changer. The wrong latch can result in cracked nipples, poor milk transfer, and large amount of pain for you. The right latch will mean comfortable feeding and better milk transfer for baby. So natural support for cracked nipples. Calendula cream. Put this on after feeds and then wipe off before the next feed. Chamomile cream, which is very soothing. Rubbing excess breast milk into the skin, yes, really, it contains healing properties, and letting the nipples air dry when possible. Number four, postnatal depression. This one is extremely close to my heart as I suffered after both my births, and I always speak openly about it because I want to normalise the situation. I feel the more it's spoken about, the more women will seek help and see it as not a taboo subject. So what is postnatal depression? It's not just baby blues. That's normally the first six weeks and it's hormonal and it normally passes. Postnatal depression is longer lasting and more severe. It can start any time in the first year, and it affects up to 30% of new mums, but some studies say that it's higher. So what causes postnatal depression? A traumatic birth experience, huge hormonal changes postpartum, the social isolation of having a newborn. We used to have sisters, aunties, mums, grand mums at home to be able to help take care of us and the baby. This doesn't happen anymore. There is a lack of support from family and friends. If you've had previous mental health issues, financial stress due to not working because of having the baby and having to take time off, relationship difficulties. If you're not sleeping and the baby's crying, that's going to put a strain on anybody's relationship. But it's often a combination of all these factors. Postnatal depression is not a sign of failure. It's not a sign that you don't love your baby. It's not something you can snap out of, and it's not your fault. So what can help? Talk to someone, your GP, health visitor, friend, family, don't suffer in silence. Therapies that can help are CBT, which is cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling, support groups, short-term antidepressants if needed, and obviously constitutional one-to-one homeopathic treatment. For me, my first time lasted about six weeks. If I'm honest, it probably lasted until my eldest was about a year old. The second time, it was much more severe. It lasted 18 months to two years, and at its worst, I was self-harming, not washing and not eating. And I certainly wasn't sleeping, and that wasn't to do with the baby. I did access NHS postnatal depression counselling and took a short course of antidepressants as I wasn't keen, but I did need the help at the time. I also saw two private counsellors weekly, and these two women rebuilt me. Homeopathy supported me throughout. You're not alone. If you're struggling, please do reach out. So many of us have been there, and help is available, and you deserve support. Homeopathy can help with all of these postpartum issues. For wound healing, we've got Arnica for bruising and trauma, calendula, which promotes healing, Staphosagria for surgical wounds and europesiotomy, and hypericum for nerve pain. For milk production, my top three are laccannum, pulsatilla and ertica urens. And for mastitis, my top three are bellodonna, which is for red, hot and throbbing breasts, phyto lacca and bryonia. For cracked nipples, we have castor equi, graphites and retania. And for postnatal depression, we've got sepia, napmule, ignacea, and pulsatilla. But constitutional remedies are needed, not just picking them off the shelf. They need to be correct for you. Homeopathy individualizes remedies and treatments, so it has to be the right remedy for you. What homeopathy can't help with sleep deprivation due to baby waking up. Sorry, there's no magic remedy for that. However, it can help you cope better with a lack of sleep. So wrapping up, having a newborn baby while dealing with a post-birth recovery is tiring and wonderful. These four issues are extremely common and natural support is available for all of them. So perineum and c-section healing, sith baths and keeping the area clean and dry for your C-section scar. If you don't have enough milk, increase suckling time and eat barley, fennel and papaya. For mastitis and cracked nipples, red cabbage leaves in your bra, get the latch checked and use calendula or chamomile cream. And for postnatal depression, talk to someone and access therapy and homeopathy can support you. Homeopathy helps with all these issues, so please don't suffer alone. Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you found this helpful, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a review as it helps other busy mums discover the show. If you want to dive deeper, book a free discovery call to see how we can work together one-to-one, or join me on Instagram at Homeopathic Harmony, where we can continue the conversation. And don't forget to grab your free guide to beating Insomnia when you join my email list, because I know sleep is precious when you're juggling everything else. The links are in the show notes. I'll see you next week.