Gentle TCM Tips for Postpartum or ‘The Fourth Trimester’
The first weeks after birth are often referred to as the “fourth trimester.” It’s a time of big changes, your body is healing, your energy is adjusting, and you’re beginning life with your new baby. It can be beautiful, but also challenging and overwhelming.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this stage is seen as a sacred window of recovery. After pregnancy and birth, your body needs warmth, rest, and nourishment. How you care for yourself and nurture your Essence can shape your wellbeing for years to come.
Here are some gentle ways to support yourself in the postpartum period:
Keep Yourself Warm
After birth, the body is more vulnerable to cold. Keeping warm with cosy layers, socks, hot water bottles, or warm showers ( where possible) helps protect your energy and supports healing.
Choose Comforting Foods
Soups, stews, and porridges are easy to digest and deeply nourishing. Chicken or bone broth, kidney beans, vegetables, and grains like rice or oats are traditional staples.
Adding warming spices like ginger or cinnamon can help circulation. Try to keep cold or raw foods to a minimum.
Sip Warm Drinks
Instead of iced water, choose warm teas or room-temperature drinks. Ginger tea, chamomile, or red date tea are especially soothing and replenishing.
Rest Whenever You Can
Sleep will naturally be broken but rest doesn’t always mean sleep. Even lying down, closing your eyes, or having 10 minutes of quiet time can help your body restore its vital energy.
Gentle Touch
Simple bodywork and acupressure can support your recovery. Points like Spleen 6 (image below - locate 4 finger widths above the highest point of the medial ankle- just behind the tibia- usually tender to touch) can help calm the mind and nourish the Yin Qi of the body. Gentle Shiatsu when you’re ready is also a lovely way to feel held, cared for and supported.
Accept Support ( where available to you)
In many cultures, the weeks after birth are considered not to be done alone. Letting others cook, help with chores, or simply sit with you is part of healing. This is naturally a privilege not afforded to us all but leaning on others, if possible for you is recommended. Receiving a little back when we’re giving so much can be a balancing and nurturing experience.
Remember that taking care of yourself is an essential part of caring for your baby too. By keeping warm, nourished, and rested, you give yourself the best foundation for this new chapter. According to TCM your Qi is one and the same as your baby for at least 9 months postpartum. There is a saying that if you treat the mother, you treat the child. I like this saying and think that our society could learn a lot from this ethos. 🙏🏼
If you’d like extra support, postpartum Shiatsu can be a gentle way to restore balance, ease tension, and help you feel more centred during this precious time.
Take good care of yourself. ✨
