Cesarean Recovery Session- Origin Story
Cesarean Recovery Session includes castor oil packs, self-abdominal massage, & herbal tea prep
One of the things that I love about the work I do, is the level of creativity involved when a client comes to me with a situation, tells me they think I have the skill level to help them in some way or another, and ask me what I have to offer. I had a few such experiences last year. Out of one of them grew a new offering which I have been able to utilize more than once with numerous other clients- the Cesarean Recovery Session.
In the Summer of 2020, I had a newly postpartum mother reach out to me. She had had her 4th child, and it was her first cesarean birth- due to a placenta previa. Placenta previa is when the placenta covers the cervix and is one of the few reasons where a cesarean birth is truly indicated. This 4th time mother was looking for tips and care for her cesarean recovery. She grew up in a culture that was deeply in tune with postpartum care for new mothers and felt a huge empty space after her 4th child’s birth.
Cham Postpartum Care
My client, S, came from a Cambodian Cham family and grew up in the United States. Her mother showered her with intense, traditional, focused postpartum care after the birth of each of her previous children. She had daily hot stone treatments on her uterus, daily soup and hot, herbal tea drinks, steam baths with herbs soaking into her body, and treatments that focused on helping prevent prolapse with lots and lots of rest and warmth infused into her body. The Cham postpartum traditions are absolutely amazing, especially in how well preserved they have been through generations. S shared with me a wonderful inside look at many of these beautiful traditions, and I can’t wait to share them in a future post.
Oasis Birth Cesarean Recovery Session
After her 4th birth, and her first cesarean birth, her mother was hesitant to try these traditional postpartum healing treatments, because she wasn’t sure what would be considered safe. S asked me if I had any tips on cesarean recovery, and we set up a meeting session for a cesarean recovery session. I pulled from my recent training with Rachelle of Innate Traditions, and put together a Cesarean Recovery Session that consisted of-
- Tips on how to do a simple self-abdominal massage that progressively becomes more involved as you pass from 2 weeks to 6 weeks and more postpartum
- An online video guide on more self-abdominal massage work
- Castor Oil pack benefits, preparation and application- plus how to continue working with castor oil packs once you return home
- Simple breathwork to touch base with your pelvic floor and to bring oxygen deep into your body
- A warm oil massage of your hands/arms/feet/legs while you enjoy a warm castor oil pack on your lower abdomen
- And we finished off the session with a warm, nourishing herbal tea, to really reflect on the postpartum principles of warmth, nourishment and slowing down.
I was so grateful for these moments of slowing down and enjoying the postpartum recovery time with S. She immensely enjoyed it, and her feedback was that all postpartum women deserve healing postpartum bodywork, including those who had had cesarean births. She totally felt a void in that area with her first cesarean birth after 3 vaginal births, and was so grateful for the moments of healing postpartum bodywork.
Cesarean Recovery Resource List
I then resourced her with local bodyworkers who did further work on cesarean scars, including local physical therapists and visceral massage therapists (some of which are available on my local DMV area resource list here). I am currently offering these 60-90 minute sessions to anyone in the DMV area who may be interested, and hoping to add on an option to purchase your own Castor Oil Pack as an add-on for those interested in continuing with the castor oil work on their own.
