Essential Oils for Postpartum

On the other side, many traditional cultures consider postpartum to be a special time in a woman’s life and will adopt specific practices to support and care for the mother and baby. Many of these cultures consider the first four to six weeks after birth to be a time of great integration and healing for the mother. This sacred window of time is an opportunity for the mother to rest, recover, heal, transform and bond with her newborn baby. Cross-cultural similarities in traditional postpartum care include organised support, rest, specific foods, physical warmth practices and rituals. A few examples of these cultural traditions include the Zuo Yue Zi or “sitting the moon” in China, a 40 days confinement period where the woman is encouraged to rest and is fed special herbal soups and broths by her mother or relatives; the Yu Kam or “fire bed” practice in Lao, where women are encouraged to rest on a bamboo bed over hot coals for the first few weeks as well as being bathed in hot water and fed special broths and teas; the Cuarentena in Mexico, referring to the first 40 days after birth where a women is encouraged to rest and receive specific treatments such a full body massage, belly binding and consume a specific diet.

In both Ayurvedic medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine, two of the oldest healing systems in the world, postpartum is considered to be a state of imbalance. The woman’s body is seen as open, cold, dry and fragile. A newborn mother is believed to be more susceptible to cold entering in her body and prone to developing illnesses. Pregnancy is also considered one of the most energetically open state a woman will ever be in, acting as a portal between the spirit and the material world. Therefore, postpartum is a time of deep integration where the many pathways that have been opened during pregnancy and birth need to be closed. Many practices and rituals support these beliefs with warming and grounding practices. Some of these practices can include full body and abdominal massage, belly binding, warm herbal baths and nourishing foods. Practices such as massage, herbal bath, belly binding and womb warming can be supported by the use of appropriate essential oils, enhancing the warming and grounding qualities of the treatments. Essential oils can also be used to help promote sleep and improve sleep quality, as well as to calm the nervous system through this period of great change.

The first few weeks following birth is a time of great receptivity and sensitivity. For this reason, it is best to start with a 1% dilution when using essential oils. If you intuitively feel like your body is ready to accept more, you can increase to a regular 2.5% dilution. The recommended carrier oil for massage and womb treatment in postpartum is cold pressed black sesame oil, due to its warming and therapeutic qualities. In Ayurvedic medicine, black sesame oil is considered to be highly medicinal and penetrate all 7 tissues of the body. Jojoba or Sweet Almond Oil can also be used for a lighter feel if black sesame oil doesn’t feel right.