AYURVEDA AND PREGNANCY

Ayurvedic insights into pregnancy

Pregnancy is a rejuvenating experience in a woman’s life according to Ayurveda, because every cell in a woman’s body can be transformed.

Every thought, action, and decision a pregnant mother makes is directly correlated to the health, vitality, and essentially, the life potential of the child. She must be mindful that every element, food article, aroma, sight, and sound entering or surrounding her body impacts the fetus, directing the dependent soul to a greater state or to a more weakened state of health. Holistic care relating to pregnancy becomes essential as soon as the mother and father even decide to embark on the journey of parenthood—before conception even takes place. Ayurvedic practices and principles applied to the pregnant mother and her pending child provide a sincere potential for an enriched pregnancy and birthing experience, contributing to greater mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health of the mother, child, and father. How can the modern, western-born mother implement the ancient teachings of Ayurveda as she embarks on the journey to bring a vital new life into this world? This review of literature will offer an array of insight shedding light on how the three pillars of life, herbal treatments, five sense therapies, and spiritual practices can be incorporated and utilized throughout the pregnancy 

Pregnancy is a happy and joyous time of life for many women. It can also be a challenging time of life as tbe mother's body goes through numerous changes in order to create and support the development of a new life. Ayurveda creates support for the physical, mental/emotional and spiritual bodies of the mother and her baby. Ayurveda places great emphasis on the importance of caring for the mother before during and after pregnancy. It is the woman who procreates children and propagating the human species. Dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), lakshmi (auspiciousness), and loka (the entire universe) are represented in every woman. The dietary regimen during pregnancy is extremely important as the growth of the baby depends upon the health and nutrition of the mother.

Grit preparations (medicated ghee) like Phala Sarpis can be taken from the first month of pregnancy. Dadimadi Ghritham improves the growth of the foetus while Kalyanaka Ghritham improves mental growth.

Prior to conception, for the duration of the pregnancy and into the breast feeding years, it is necessary that the mother follows a constitutionally specific balanced diet with the best nutritional value. The mother should have a diet of fresh, whole, organic foods, which is easily digestible. Vegetables, sweet fruits, raw milk and ghee are all highly recommended in Ayurveda. The foods should primarily be moistening and nourishing, aided by agni (digestive power) promoting herbs and spices. Rice, milk, butter and ghee along with fruits and leafy vegetables are recommended. This is useful for foetal growth, for maternal health and for further lactation. 

In Charaka Samhita, it is mentioned that the pregnant women should be treated just like a pot filled with oil as the slightest oscillation of such pot can cause spilling of oil. Similarly, slight excitement to the pregnant women can initiate Garbhapata (abortion).[

It is also recommend that prior to conception and during pregnancy, the mother-to-be should keep a calm/happy mood, maintain a high degree of cleanliness and avoid excessive exercise, sexual activity, expressing anger, travel and lifting heavy objects. Eat food that is mild, easy to digest and maintain regular meal timings. It is better to avoid spicy foods, fall or trauma, weight loss programmes,negative feelings, difficult postures like balancing on one leg or squatting and exposure to unhappy or violent events.

Sattvic foods will build ojas, most importantly include milk and ghee (clarified butter). Milk should be taken warmed with cardamom or turmeric added for better digestion. Ghee is a nourishing food. It promotes digestion and is digested quickly. Sattvic food is especially good for building ojas, ghee, milk, dates, apricots, and sesame seeds are all recommended. Tamasic foods often produce ama instead of ojas.

If you’re pregnant, you need a lot of emotional support along with physical care. You shouldnot harbour any negative thoughts such as sorrow, grief, anger, fear and doubt. These hamper the mental and physical growth of the foetus. So, try to stay as happy as you can by exposingyourself to happy circumstances, people and things. And surround yourself with close friendsand relatives who support and care for you during this special time of your life.

Even during childbirth, warm drinks of milk with ghee and jiggery are often given to promote the delivery of the baby. Warm ghee is also massaged in circular motions over the mother’s belly to ease pain and facilitate a smooth delivery.

Pregnancy and child birth are nature’s gift, if proper dietary regimen and life style are not maintained during pregnancy; it may result in many complications to mother as well as to the foetus, also leading to difficulty in labour. Pregnancy is the time to consume more nutritional food substances.

After the baby is born, the baby will begin to breast feed. Since breast milk is a nourishing kapha substance, the mother should continue to take more kapha foods and avoid foods that increase pitta/vata. Cold drinks, too many raw foods, dry foods or stimulating foods should be avoided. It is suggested that the breastfeeding mother consume 1-3 tablespoons of ghee everyday for optimal breast milk production. Sweet porridges with milk, kitchadi, sweet fruits and nuts are also beneficial.

"Ayurvedic teachings promote a proper attitude of worship towards all pregnant women's. The mother needs a "clear joyful spirit" in a clean body. She should wear clean and white garments. She should avoid dreadful sights, painful or agitating sounds. Agitating emotions of the mind are dangerous (anger, fright, etc). She should not carry a heavy load or talk in a loud voice. The food she eats should be "...sweet, palatable, well-cooked, prepared with appetizing drugs and abounding in fluid substances." "The child in the womb feels pain in the same part of its body as the one in which its mother feels any."

Ayurveda strongly asserts the importance of balancing and supporting the five senses; five sense therapies and overall awareness of how the mother and fetus are effected by the external world through the five senses is an essential component to a balanced pregnancy. Not only will the mother feel more at ease and supported, but the fetus’s development prior to and following birth is significantly influenced by tastes, smells, touch, sounds, and sights the mother comes in contact with

"Where women are honoured, there the gods are pleased, but where they are not honoured, there no sacred rite is fruitful."

''The aura of a pregnant woman is one of the easiest to see, for it is particularly luminous and full of gold.'' ''The gold colour in the aura indicates that the pregnant woman is intensely connected to high spiritual beings who support and foster the embryo. Pregnancy is therefore a privileged time for spiritual growth. Itis a time to do a lot of meditation and enlightening reading, and to work at developing intuition and perception. "

PREPARE YOUR PREGNANCY WITH AYURVEDA REGIMEN BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER PREGNANCY 

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Ayurveda provides significant assistance to women during pregnancy and it is a complementary addition to the care provided by medical doctors and midwives. Mothers-to-be undergo many changes to their physical and emotional being during their 9 months of pregnancy as they create and support a new life. Ayurveda provides nutritional advice as well as practices such as meditation, the daily routine, yoga asanas, and considerations for happiness.

More and more research and controlled trials are being conducted on mindfulness, pranayama, and mediation during pregnancy as an effectual and risk-free method of decreasing stress and anxiety. Especially considering the negative impacts of stress on the mother and infants, including reduced adaptive immunity, lower birth weights, increased chance of preterm births, and cognitive, emotional, and developmental deficiencies in infants—and considering the harmful nature of reducing stress symptoms with pharmaceuticals—simple, non-invasive approaches are becoming key to help with stress and depression in pregnant women.