The weeks and months after childbirth are both precious and intense. While supporting your child’s health, growth, and development, your body is undergoing a whirlwind of physical and emotional changes. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are phenomenal tools for easing the postpartum period. Here are the SIX ways that acupuncture and herbal medicine can support women after childbirth. 1. Ease the hormonal mayhem. The first several days and weeks after childbirth are the fastest hormonal shifts a woman will experience. Often this manifests as major mood swings, extreme temperature shifts, shaking, sweating, and more. Acupuncture regulates both stress hormones and sex hormones, helping to ease the extremes of this volatile period. Many moms report feeling calmer, more temperature balanced, and less irritable when receiving acupuncture during the first few months postpartum. 2. Calm the nervous system. Even with a healthy child, the first several months of parenthood tend to be stressful with sleep deprivation, figuring out feeding/pumping, worries about the child’s health, and shifts in family dynamics. While acupuncture doesn’t grant you more sleep (unfortunately!) it does help your body move into a calmer, rest-and-digest nervous system state that lasts beyond the time of the appointment. Herbal medicine that is breastfeeding-safe is available for sustained stress relief. 3. Support stabilizing anxiety and depression. In part due to the hormonal changes, as well as due to exhaustion, blood loss, and the profound change in family life, many women are prone to at least mild anxiety or depression in the first few weeks and months of parenthood. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are great allies for regulating moods. Of course, if more severe mood concerns exist, you’ll need to work with a psychotherapist and/or psychiatrist. 4. Relieve pains from nursing, feeding, and holding the baby. Many women are stuck in a bending forward, head-down position for much of their baby’s early life. This leads to neck, shoulder, and upper back strain which can be excruciating. For those with larger babies, forearm and wrist pain is also common. Acupuncture is a fabulous non-pharmaceutical way to relieve muscle tension and reduce the sensation of pain. 5. Increase energy stores. The postpartum period is heavily depleted whether you’ve had a vaginal or surgical birth. In either case, blood and body fluid loss is common. Both acupuncture and herbal medicine support increased energy for the body while you’re in this recovery phase. 6. Support wound healing. For those with surgical scars from birth, acupuncture can be used from about week 6 onwards to support scar healing. If you’re interested to try acupuncture and/or herbal medicine during the postpartum period, contact us at Inspire Family Acupuncture to set up your first appointment. Here’s to your health!