THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE PERIOD OF LYING-IN Since ancient times, traditional cultures throughout the world have treated the first forty days after birth as a special time in the lives of mothers and babies. It has also often been called as the lying-in period. A mother is told to take rest, she is given help around the house, and her activities (in the Indian context, going out of the house) are restricted. This tradition has strong roots in biology! During the first 6 weeks postpartum, mom and baby are getting to know each other. Biologically, maternal hormone Prolactin is also high in this period. Prolactin is called the Mothering hormone. It not only enables the mother to bond with her baby and protect her baby, but also allows for excellent milk production, and milk letdown, which happens through another hormone - the Love hormone! What could be better than this heady cocktail for mother and baby! Research is showing that the more frequently the mother nurses in the first days and the first 6 weeks post-birth, the more she will have for her baby in the coming months. And, since the mothers body has gone through a major event, it takes her about that 40 day (or 6 week) time period to recover completely from it. Though many mothers feel in excellent health in as little as 1-2 weeks, giving themselves permission to lie-in and nurture and nourish themselves and their babies, will help in avoiding doing too much too soon, and decrease the incidence of feeling burnt out and depressed, and/or having insufficient milk supply for their babies. So, Mantra for the first 6 weeks = Eat healthy foods at regular intervals, Keep well hydrated, Give permission to yourself to rest as much as you need, Breastfeed on demand! ~ Vijaya Krishnan
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:27:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015