Weaving through Life: From Postpartum Care to Menopause&their deep connections

Many years back while in a weekend of clinical presentations, I observed my long time doctor treat patient after patient. The symptoms of each person were a little different, though the people were very similar: all in their mid to late 40’s, all had children, all successful and smart, all went back to work shortly after having children, all with tremendous menopausal symptoms. I listened as Vaidya Yash wove through their stories, looking for the root cause as each of them answered questions and received physical assessments. By the 3rd or 4th person in, it was becoming very clear that through birth, delivery and postpartum time, each of these patients did not receive the proper care or important rest that was needed to help support the epic change that happens through birthing and beyond. Most of these patients shared stories of the hard transitions in the early months and years of the postpartum time.

>>>Fast forward<<<

I sit in my office, each day working with these same people who I listened to in my clinical. Now in peri-menopause and menopause, some have birthed ideas, companies, projects, others have birthed physical babies…many have done both and at the same time.

And so, the me now is at work with the you then, in the form of someone else who is now birthing in the hopes that the you then and the you now can get the care and support needed to be more balanced and attuned through your ages and stages.

I find it interesting that the type of care needed in the postpartum year(s), yes plural, is the same type of care needed in menopause. Both times in life are extraordinary and call on us to fully show up to our life. I am interested in this relationship that is happening below the surface and being in this particular conversation and support feels very aligned at this time. Cultures across the world speak of these two time periods to be portals into liminal space, transitions into something life changing and that they benefit from being honored as such.

The postpartum time was not especially easy for me. My son was born 23 years ago and everything changed. I thought I was ready and felt mostly prepared…prepared for the birth and aware of how to change diapers, I had been around children my whole life. I went to classes on breast feeding and infant care. I did yoga and ate well. But when Henry came through after an extremely difficult delivery, it all went out the window. I had a really hard time. Postpartum depression flew straight into my lap along with this little bundle and along with some serious body trauma. It took me a couple years to recover, mostly. Some of it I am still working on and through today.

When my daughter was born, the story was different. She flipped just days before her expected ETA and the choice for a c-section moved to the center. It was a different, things went well. My body recovered and the experience was good. So good for me that my mind was seriously relieved and so my mental health was much better.

As a reflect on that time as a menopausal person, I can see the places that left vulnerability in my system. I am doing more of that repair now, re-tracing the early steps in an effort to fill the cracks with gold leaf. I see where some of the support and care I could have used back then would have benefitted the person I am now, some 25 years later. And that the care I am receiving now is similar to the care I give to the postpartum person. I see and feel the connections that I have since learned through studying Ayurveda and my own experiences as a reminder of how important these time periods are, not only for rest but also for direct care. Calling on the allyship of food, herbs, oils, steam, considerate care, presence and experience, the tools of Ayurveda and wise natural health to help the me then through the postpartum person now (time is never linear). It’s extraordinarily healing and observing the shift and change that happens along the way makes me drop to my knees in love and reverence. This kind of care is not too common here in the West. In many cultures around the world and especially in postpartum care, this type of support is often given directly through the household and the community that steps in to hold and buoy such a monumental time of life. But often in this culture we don’t have this structure in place. Little parental leave or time for recovery. Often with luck and privilege, we may get as far as meal trains and lactation specialist, light house keeping and good listening. Please do not get me wrong, these pillars of support are absolute necessity in recovery and are impactful in immeasurable ways AND where is the direct care and support for the recovery of the flight through this portal that brings a child back with us on the other side? All of it is important and I hope to continue work with the birthing person to help them navigate the huge changes forward after such an epic journey. I do this in standing with all the good folks who also come to talk about the very real and sincere life change that menopause brings. The weaving of life through these two sacred and holy windows feels dear.

The prophecy of midlife has a lot of wisdom to share that I am hoping to put to good use.

Since the care of these times of extraordinary shift are similar, the qualities are too. Slowing things down, assimilating life experience, eating good and nourishing foods, supporting the mind and body and being in reach of community all line up very similarly. They are both times of great re-invention. A huge hormonal shift that paves the way for a new way of being. I believe that is what is being asked of us in these liminal spaces of transformation. I believe both these times call on us to connect more deeply to ourselves. To ask questions and look to see what may need to be different to move in ways that feel true and authentic. They are times of massive creation. A call into the mystery and years ahead in a whole different way. There is often a lot of hard and huge emotional surges-why not? To change like this requires the call of the wild.

And..

Can we stay there or find our way there? In the wild and in the natural. The place that feels Right. Right for you, right for me? The place where the river flows, the moon rises and sun sets. Can we stay in the beauty of ourselves and the world around?

***

Danielle Hanna is not a licensed physician nor is Ayurveda licensed by the state.

In Ayurveda the emphasis is not only placed on disease but also maintaining the balance of the individual’s constitutional nature, so Ayurvedic treatments are never one size fits all, but custom tailored for each individual.

All content is for educational purposes only and should not be replaced with medical advise.

Thank you