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.

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.