Periods & Post-Partum Lochia
It’s a natural progression to be making healthier choices in terms of personal care items. It’s recommended women switch to using pads after the birth of a baby to allow their body to heal after the trauma of birth. Tampon usage can cause infection and they are not recommended. Post-partum bleeding or lochia can persist for up to six weeks and it takes at least that long for everything to be properly healed after the birth.
Always to look for products that are organic or natural and chemical free. Your vaginal tissues are the most sensitive and thinnest tissues in the body. They easily absorb chemicals and toxins straight into the bloodstream, adding another load to the liver’s job of cleaning your blood.
Most sanitary products in the supermarket aisle are filled with toxic material such as: dioxin, a toxic byproduct of the bleaching process; glyphospate, a commonly used pesticide; and plastics, among other nasties, which can impair the immune, endocrine and reproductive and developing nervous systems. Some additional things you can do to improve your health and wellbeing in this area:
- Rethink tampons: The natural movement of energy and blood is downwards and outwards. Having a tampon in the vagina blocks that energetic movement and causes stagnation in the pelvis and reproductive system. Tampons can also cause micro lesions in the vaginal wall, allowing bacteria to enter into the tissues and bloodstream, and actively dry out the self-cleaning and lubricating fluids in the vagina, making infection much more likely.
- Look after yourself: While you are menstruating or recovering from giving birth, your immune system is not working at optimal levels. The body’s energy is directed towards detoxifying and excreting the blood inside the uterus that is no longer needed. You need to do less at this time, keep warm and eat warming, nourishing foods to replace the blood that has been lost.
- Avoid cold in all forms: The body works best at normal body temperature which is around 37 degrees. If we use ice against the body, eat cold/frozen foods, sit on cold surfaces, swim while bleeding, being out in cold weather without adequate clothing…cold gets into our body. Overall body temperature and body functionality reduces. So beware of cold!
Most of all, do what feels right for you. This transition to motherhood is one where many people will offer you all sorts of advice – you will find strength in becoming informed and in making your own life choices. Ride that wellness wave mama and use that amazing intuition of yours to make the choices that feel right for you and your baby.
Belinda Falconar, BHSc Acupuncture, Dips Tuina & Qigong, is a fully qualified acupuncturist and holistic health practitioner currently working in her clinic Aroha Acupuncture at Waikanae, NZ. Belinda is a women’s health advocate and is particularly concerned about the toxins that most women are unwittingly being exposed to through the use of mainstream sanitary products. In 2014 she became the NZ distributor for Drion sanitary products, a natural and toxin-free product that supports women’s health, to ensure women have access to quality non-toxic products.
