The most common association with bringing a new life into this world is that of a woman being pregnant. 

The external world focuses mainly on the journey of pregnancy, including the mom-to-be. However, the mom will also, of course, place a significant focus on the birthing process. 

But in reality, the journey of a woman who becomes a mother entails four critical non-negotiable phases: conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. 

Ironically, the first and the last phase do not receive much attention. Yet, a myriad of difficulties often occurs while a woman is trying to get pregnant and then post-birth, during the postpartum period. 

The suppression of the menstrual cycle through contraception pills, the forgotten honouring of the moon cycles and bleeding with the new moon have much to do with infertility problems of modern women. 

Sadly, western medicine has also neglected the crucial healing period of postpartum, and much too often, postpartum is associated with depression and not the actual healing period.

It is no surprise that western medicine implicates childbirth as the initiation of a whole host of health conditions, as the new mother doesn't have the opportunity to rest and recover during the critical 4-6 weeks of postpartum.

Western Perspective on Postpartum  

The Journal of Prenatal medicine states that postpartum is the period following childbirth and has three distinct phases.

The first phase is the acute period, which involves the first 6-12 hours postpartum. The potential for immediate crises exists during this period, such as postpartum hemorrhage, uterine inversion, amniotic fluid embolism, and eclampsia.  

The second phase is the subacute postpartum period, which lasts 2–6 weeks. This is when the healing of the new mother's body occurs, with the uterus returning to its normal shape and size and the organs in the abdominal cavity shifting back into their regular places. The problems that commonly arise during this period range from 'ordinary concerns about perineal discomfort to peripartum cardiomyopathy or severe postpartum depression.'

The third phase is the delayed postpartum period, lasting up to 6 months. Changes during this phase are extremely gradual and includes the restoration of muscle tone and connective tissue to the prepregnant state.

The modern medical system agrees that a new mother undergoes a massive transformation after giving birth, lasting up to six months - though they don't consider the mental and emotional impact on a new mother once a baby is born.  

It is somewhat unfathomable that the modern medical system deems it necessary for any individual recovering from surgery or a medical condition to rest to aid recovery. Yet, they do not advocate such crucial rest for a new mother or set aside necessary resources to make such recovery feasible. 

And yet surprisingly, the correlation between this lack of rest aiding healing and the myriad of conditions that mothers suffer from - such as stress urinary incontinence, uncontrollable gas, inability to control bowel movements, uterine prolapse, cystocele, rectocele and postpartum depression, to name a few - has yet to be deduced.

The Ayurvedic Perspective on Postpartum

 According to the Ayurvedic medicinal tradition of ancient India, postpartum is a "Sacred Window" where the mother's nervous system is like a flower. Very delicate and sensitive to the environment. 

The sacred window is the time for nourishing and nurturing the new mother so she can rebuild her tissues after a demanding 40 weeks of creating and birthing a new life. 

An incredible and little-known fact is that after childbirth, a mother's physiology goes through a natural reset process to embody her ideal health for the years to come. Thus women are in an exceptional window for the first 42 days after childbirth - up to 56 days if surgery is involved - to establish health and well-being for the 42 years to come and offer the most exceptional ability to love and serve their baby. 

An ethereal transformation of the new mother's emotional and spiritual bodies also occurs during this sacred window. So additionally, 

postpartum is a time for extended bonding with her baby, digesting and assimilating her new emotional and spiritual experiences, and deep rest and rejuvenation.

Why 42 days?

"The first 42 days will impact the next 42 years to come"

Ayurveda explains that it takes around 42 days for the essence of food to become Ojas and the seven body tissues that make up the body's physical form to be built properly.

Ojas, also called the "eighth" tissue, is one of the substances that anchors prana, known as life energy in the body, which provides the body with immunity and overall well-being and health.  

Therefore, the period after childbirth is critical for a new mother to rebuild her tissues, establishing a solid foundation of health and well-being that will impact the next 42 years. 

For this purpose, the new mother requires special care within these 42 days.  

A unique combination of rekindling the digestive fire, ensuring the healthy elimination of bodily waste, eliminating the build-up of toxins in the body, and consuming appropriate, nourishing foods and herbs are critical elements in the postpartum rest period. 

The 4th Trimester - the Missing Link to a Mother's Health.

The staggering number of women who need to return to work sometimes four weeks after birthing their child violates human rights. 

The critical healing can take up to 6 months for a new mother, so is it truly any wonder that women suffer from various health and mental issues post-birth? 

A new mother must have a period of 4 to 6 weeks to fully recover and enable a strong foundation of well-being for the years to come. 

That is why postpartum planning is essential for an expectant mother's journey. It is potentially even more important than birth planning.  

Not only does a new mother require support from family members, friends or caregivers to ensure a peaceful recovery period, but also knowledge of what her body, mind and soul needs during the postpartum period so that she can make choices that will further enhance her healing process.