When my twins were born at 26 weeks at University of Cincinnati Hospital, everything I thought I knew about motherhood was turned upside down. They spent three months in the NICU, fighting and growing stronger every day, while I was learning how to navigate my own postpartum recovery. Those early weeks weren’t filled with soft moments of bonding- they were a blur of hospital walls, pumping, medical updates, and trying to take care of myself while worrying about my tiny babies. I didn’t know how to soothe the overwhelm or rebuild my strength without feeling guilty, and I wish I had.

When most women think about postpartum support, they think about help with the baby. And yes — that matters. But what often gets overlooked is this: A mother’s body has just done something extraordinary.

Muscles have stretched. Organs have shifted. Hormones have surged and dropped. The nervous system has run a marathon. Whether birth was vaginal or cesarean, spontaneous or surgical, calm or intense — the body has worked hard.

An Abhyanga-inspired postpartum session is about caring for her. Not in a spa-day way. In a self-care, recovery way.

An Ayurveda Postpartum Doula combines traditional postpartum wisdom with modern, practical support. At Nurture, our postpartum doulas provide in-home postpartum support in Cincinnati and surrounding areas, offering care that centers you, not just your baby.

This is not about doing more — it’s about being held while your body and nervous system integrate the massive transition of birth.

After birth, the placenta is often treated as an afterthought — something quietly discarded once its job is “done.” But emerging research is telling a very different story: the placenta holds powerful information about pregnancy, birth, and long-term health for both parent and baby.

In fact, physician-scientists are now calling for placental evaluation to become a routine part of obstetric and neonatal care, not just something reserved for emergencies.

At Nurture, our team of doulas believes that postpartum care is not just recovery — it’s sacred renewal. Recently, a few of our doulas (and I!) have begun training to become Postpartum Ayur-Doulas — doulas who specialize in Ayurvedic practices for the postpartum period.