Post Partum Pictures and Thoughts

Did you think, lying-in - what an old-fashioned word! True. But the concept is as fresh and important as ever. Mothers and babies, and (to a lesser extend) fathers and siblings, too, need time together, preferably several weeks in bed together to bond, connect, recover, relax, heal... Birth is not an illness, that is true. It is a wonderful natural process and yet, giving birth is hard work and a recovery period is important for the future health of mother and baby, including the establishment of breastfeeding and a good milk supply. 

Did you also know that the lying-in period is a well-known, cherished and important tradition in most parts of the World? In China, for example, they "zuò yuè zi", they "sit the month". In Latin American countries, they know "la cuarentena", the fourty days, from which the word quarantine originates. In Islam, the Quran prescribes a lying-in period of 40 days. In Germany, the traditional lying-in period used to be 6 weeks and ended on the next Sunday after that when baby and mother left the house for the first time after the birth to go to church and have the baby baptised.

Traditionally, during the post partum period, at least for those who could afford it, mothers did not have to do any housework. After about 6 weeks, they'd be recovered well and ready to come out of bed, tie baby on the back and take up their duties again. 

See if you can arrange a lying-in period for yourself. Be creative about who could help you during this time.

During the lying-in period, the course will be set for the health of mother, baby and the whole family. 

Now, it will be decided whether breastfeeding will be successfull or not. As breastfeeding is a very important determining factor regarding a child's health, with consequences for a whole life-time, I pay a lot of attention to a good breastfeeding start.