Being a mom has changed over the generations.  One of the most unfortunate changes in recent history is the absence of social support for new moms.  Grandparents, aunts, uncles all live far away, busy with work and their own affairs.  Limited parental leave coverage usually means the mom is responsible for it all.

Many traditional cultures across continents understood and respected the importance of postpartum recovery because they understood that only healthy mothers are able to raise healthy children and bear future healthy off springs.

Collectively, this practice is called “Mother Roasting” and it lasts anything from weeks to months postpartum.

When a mother is being “roasted” she rests in every sense of the word.  Family members cook for her the most nutritious meals.  Heat is place on and around her body to prevent further loss of energy (pregnancy and childbirth is considered the greatest expenditure of a woman’s energy).  She stays in bed rest except to eat and use the washroom.  Family members also help out with child care and managing house hold chores.

In contrast, many of the modern moms will go grocery shopping, house cleaning, and even snow shoveling within the first month postpartum.

Modern science reveals that a special hormone is responsible for a woman’s ability to expand her body and give birth.  This hormone is called relaxin.  We know relaxin remains in a woman’s body long after childbirth.  By carrying anything over 10 lb, the postpartum woman risk over stretching her ligaments and injure herself without even knowing it right away.

We will discuss further next week on practical things a woman can do to “Roast” after a baby.