Postpartum Weight Loss For Nursing Mothers

This article of mine was published by Chinese Medicine Times in the Summer of '09. Great for professional practitioners, and the lay reader.

"Over the past few years, there have been many published studies, articles and one book written on the effectiveness of acupuncture and Chinese herbs for weight loss and weight management. However, none have focused on post-partum weight loss. Now that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has become extremely popular for fertility, gestational diseases, and labor induction; practitioners have the opportunity to follow-up with these same patients for post-partum healthcare.

Many pregnant and post-partum mothers are concerned about losing the “baby weight” as soon as possible. During pregnancy it is contraindicated to lose weight, but we can assist with weight management techniques to control weight gain during pregnancy if needed. In addition, we can educate mothers about how to safely and effectively lose weight after the baby is born. Many new mothers focus on losing weight as quickly as possible after her baby is born. However, as practitioner’s we ought to teach these mothers to lose weight healthfully and slowly for the sake of their personal health and the health of their nursling(s).

Weight Loss in the first six weeks Post-Partum

It is not advisable to begin any special weight loss dieting during the first eight weeks postpartum so that the mother can recover her energy and heal from the birth. Eating a healthy, balanced and varied diet is advisable. In fact, nursing mothers need to eat an extra 500 calories per day to support milk production. A nursing mother’s diet should be 1,800 calories per day and definitely not less then 1,500 calories per day. Most women can begin exercising at about six weeks post-partum.

Most women lose about ten pounds (4.5kg) during the birth: the baby, the placenta and the amniotic fluid. Nursing the baby helps the uterus to shrink which will also result in weight loss. Typically in the first few weeks after birth, the mother will spontaneously lose about 5 to 8 pounds of leftover fluid weight, without the need for special weight loss techniques. That water is commonly lost through urine and sweating. Post-partum sweating occurs frequently in the form of night sweats, day sweating, and sweating while nursing the infant. All of these types of sweating result in water weight loss and are such sweating is usually considered normal and is not classified in TCM as pathological fluid (Yin) loss.

Weight Loss after eight weeks

Weight loss after eight weeks postpartum should not exceed 2-4 pounds (1-2kg) per month. Loss of more then that may cause a drop in milk supply and therefore an inability to adequately provide nutrition to the nursling. It can also prove unhealthy for the mother because patients who lose weight quickly tend to regain the lost weight and then some, whereas patients who lose weight in a slow and steady manner tend to maintain their weight loss".

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