Earlier this year, Molly Hahn remained purposefully in her bed for two weeks. She wasn’t ill. In fact, she was lifting weights one day—a week and a half past her due date—and delivering her third child at home the next.
A personal trainer and active mom with a 4-year-old and 2-year-old, she ceased all activity immediately when the new baby was born. Hahn’s goal was to make sure she was nourished with healthy, warm food and plenty of rest for 45 days of personal healing. She was borrowing a Chinese philosophy that a well-nurtured mother makes for a healthier mom and baby.
Specifically, she was aiming for 15 days in bed, 15 days on the bed, and 15 days near the bed. “We figured it out with my husband’s schedule, and I could literally live in my bedroom in the bed with the baby,” she told The Epoch Times. “I put so much effort into resting those two weeks that it really paid off long-term.
It was the best postpartum I had.” After 15 days, she did as much sitting as she could for 15 more days and then spent 15 additional days at home before transitioning into a more “normal” life. The idea, Hahn said, came from her sister who is an acupuncturist trained in traditional Chinese medicine.
Postpartum care is becoming an issue of growing importance in the United States, where two-thirds of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit organization that calls for a more high-quality health care system. “Aunti.