WHY TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE MAY BE THE SECRET TO BETTER POSTPARTUM RECOVERY

In many Asian countries, new mothers receive a specialised recovery diet and dedicated care, a stark contrast to the experience in Australia, where the focus often shifts entirely to the baby, often leaving mothers with minimal support.

The results speak for themselves: lower rates of postpartum depression, improved breastfeeding outcomes, and faster physical recovery for mothers in Asia.

With such benefits, isn't it time Australia considered adopting some of these practices to enhance postpartum care?

Here, leading nutritionist Nicole Chien, who has worked in in pregnancy, maternal, postpartum and baby and childhood nutrition, talks about the need to adopt specialised practices.

Does everybody around you seem to be pregnant right now or just had a baby? There may be a reason for that – it’s the Year of the Dragon.

For Chinese people and many others in Asian countries, Dragon Babies are especially blessed. They bring good fortune to their parents’ marriages and businesses, and those born as Dragon Babies are believed to be smart, lucky and magnanimous.

It's a belief that is catching on here too and accounts perhaps for the many pregnant women at the moment – a borrowed idea from the East that is resonating loudly in the West along with so many other Asian philosophies and practices ranging from Yoga and Tai Chi to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Herbal Nutrition.

We are increasingly looking at new ways to better our lives and build our physical and mental health and resilience.

Another tradition that is catching on from Asia is a different approach to postpartum recovery. Many mums feel isolated and physically drained after birth and struggle in the first few months. This is hardly surprising as little attention and care is given to mum after birth – that all goes to baby. 

In Asian countries, women have been following a postpartum diet for centuries using Chinese herbs and foods based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to help them feel better physically and mentally. And guess what – they have far less rates of postnatal depression and superior breast-feeding results so there must be something to it.

This postpartum diet regime follows a three-stage recovery plan using Chinese herbs and special foods.

Stage 1: Restoring a mother’s iron and folic acid after birth and building metabolism

Stage 2: Internal restoration (helping bones and joints realign again with food rich in calcium and collagen)

Stage 3: Nourishment to allow for optimal recovery and breastfeeding.

This diet shows benefits for new mums based on western science and thinking too.

Well-known influencer Claudia Gaspar, or @fruitaquarian as she is known to her 40K plus followers, has recently given birth to her own Dragon Baby and decided to follow the three-stages recovery plan using Chinese herbs and special foods.

She is consulting with Taste for Life, a local company I set up in Australia and New Zealand.

I am guiding Claudia and providing her with the special soups and nursing teas as part of her recovery plan. Claudia is using the soups and adding her own vegetables and fruits as she is a strong advocate of a plant-based diet; but of course the soups can have a range of protein and vegetables added according to personal taste. 

The special teas Claudia is drinking help not only with breastfeeding but also postpartum recovery.

Low-fat cooking methods are used to create the soups as well as ultra high-pressure processing and cold press extraction and there is no artificial flavouring or colouring – all herbs pass 311 SGS food safety standards so are safe for mum and breastfeeding baby and the special teas are safe too.

One of the philosophies of postpartum recovery in Asia is that mum is given a lot of help which is why I am personally guiding Claudia through the process.

Following the Chinese postpartum program is not just about food, it’s about support and help for the mother as well as the child so no mother need ever feel alone or unsure of her decisions.

If you are having a newborn Dragon Baby why not consider TCM and herbal nutrition as part of your postpartum recovery?