Today we’ll be approaching the 4th trimester from a more culturally-traditional point of view. Lisa Chin is here to tell us about her experience of following the Chinese tradition of sitting the month, which involves eating body warming foods, staying inside, and not showering for weeks. How did this impact her recovery? Go check it out.
Listen directly through our website player, or however you usually listen to podcasts.
What we talked about:
- Looking at traditional practices for a better postpartum recovery
- Lisa’s experience of not showering for weeks
- Allowing yourself to be nurtured: both through food and loving support
- Benefits of a slow transition to the outside world
- Setting up a supportive community
- How the mental preparation can be harder than just doing it
- Getting away from the notion that you have to “bounce back” to your “normal” life
- Benefits of having the time and space to overcome breastfeeding challenges
- What if you have a very short maternity leave?
- Honoring your recovery
- Lisa’s free Fourth Trimester Summit event!
Resources and links to great info mentioned on the show*:
- Meal Train, Meal Baby, and Take Them a Meal: 3 meal delivery coordination services
- The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother, by Heng Ou
- 40 Days for 40 Years: a Postpartum Guide & Cookbook, by Sunny Rose Healey (ebook)
- The Immigrant Advantage, by Claudia Kolker
- The Mommy Plan: Restoring Your Post-pregnancy Body Naturally, Using Women’s Traditional Wisdom, by Valerie Lynn
- Lisa’s free Fourth Trimester Summit event!
And a list of articles about the different cultural practices around the world:
- How to Mother a Mother
- CHINA: Sitting for a Moon
- My Modern Cuarentena
- Cultural Traditions in Postpartum Rest
- Why Are America’s Postpartum Practices So Rough on New Mothers?
- Why Won’t This New Mom Wash Her Hair?
Courtesy of Lisa Chin
About Lisa Chin
Lisa Chin is a holistic mama to a happy two year old girl. Motherhood has profoundly changed who she is, how she sees the world and the mark she wants to leave. She seeks to live an inspired life of mothering, writing, and pursuing what calls to be created. When she’s not wrangling spreadsheets or her toddler, she can be found writing for her blog, Lisa for Real, where she share her thoughts on fierce femininity, eureka moments and lessons in self-awareness. Her latest project is the Fourth Trimester Summit, where Lisa has interviewed over 40 experts in women’s health, infant development and mental health who share their knowledge so new moms can create their ideal postpartum experience.
Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter, and check out her free Fourth Trimester Summit from November 9th to the 18th. (psst, I’ll be speaking on the 9th!)
Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).
Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).
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