Gentle First Year by Dr Gowri Motha
Gentle First Year by Dr Gowri Motha is not only an A list book but it is also choc full of good advice. Even if I don’t always agree with Gowri Motha (how can she advise to breastfeed a baby every 3 hours when her stomach is the size of a coin???), I wrote down a lot of useful tips for my next pregnancy (no I’m not pregnant but hopefully will be in the future).
I love this quote opening her book: “At every birth, two people are born – a baby and a mother.” (Ancient Indian wisdom)
- The Agent Provocateur corset to get our waist back after birth. I will tell you a secret. I read about traditional women wearing tight fabric around the waist after the birth to help the uterus to go back in place. So I did it with a long but not very wide piece of fabric and it kept rolling on itself… it was very messy so I give up after one week.
- the red tent concept: not moving from my bed during the first 1/2 weeks after birth (more is unrealistic in my family)
- how to avoid a greasy film floating on the water when you add essential oils to your bath: mix it with a bit of milk first
- breastfeeding releases the love hormones: endorphins; they are also feel-good hormones and help bonding (as if we needed another reason to feed our babies naturally!)
- rose otto oil is fabulous after the birth to lift your mood – burn it, wear it, add it to your bath…
- recipe for a good postnatal herbal tea (anti-depression) is raspberry leaves, rosemary, skullcap and liquorice
- after the birth, apply ice packs to the perineum three times a day for 10 minutes
- to prevent cystitis after birth, add lemon or cranberry juice to your water
- to treat hemorrhoids, apply a cotton pad soaked in witch hazel (mild astringent) or warm olive oil (for one hour a day)
- for the first outings when your baby is still a tiny newborn, put a few drops of Rescue Remedy on her fontanelle before you leave the house
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