Hello! Happy new year! (Gosh, we’re almost a month in and next week I’ll be wishing you a happy Chinese new year!)
As some of you would know, this Christmas/New Year period I headed up to Queensland’s Woodford Folk Festival (an incredible festival which includes more than 2,000 local, national and international, artists, musicians and presenters and has an audience of an estimated 132,000 people.) If you’ve never been, put it (or it’s little cousin, The Planting) on your must do list.
Kathleen Murphy, (a great friend and colleague), and I were presenting at Woodford’s Blue Lotus stage. This is the place to be for health and wellness speakers from all over the world, as well as live music, yoga, workshops and cooking demonstrations.
Our first presentation was a beautiful discussion about postpartum care (or the fourth trimester) led by Kathleen, who runs the fantastic house call service, MamaCare, in Sydney. We discussed topics including the physical and psychological needs of new mothers, some of Kathleen’s own findings regarding what mothers’ want in their fourth trimester, and how different cultures have some very similar themes on taking care of new mothers to benefit the mother, baby and whole family. As you may know, Chinese Medicine has a practice called zuo yue zi, which refers to a period of recovery for a new mother and includes support in the way of blood nourishing meals, warming therapies and rest. Ultimately, new mothers armed with modern and traditional knowledge can design their own fourth trimester (or Golden Month) to get the support they need to recover from, and thrive after, giving birth.
Our second presentation was an information packed session on enhancing male and female fertility. It covered some of the basic Fertility 101 must knows (including anatomy and cycle timing for conception). The conversation tied some of the western anatomy and physiology with Chinese Medicine and naturopathy theory, which sometimes makes these concepts a little easier to understand. Topics such as preconception care (and why this is so important for both parents), barriers to conception (eg. endometriosis, PCOS and advanced parental age) were discussed. Lastly, some evidence based general fertility do’s and don’t’s were given with some additional Chinese Medicine and naturopathic tips. But the big message was, good fertility generally requires two people who are as healthy as they can be prior to conception (although babies can be made in many ways so adapt that as need be). Be informed about your own fertility and health. Seek help if you need it.
Both Kathleen and I love supporting people through pre-conception care, fertility treatment, pregnancy and in the post-partum period. It was a lovely opportunity to share some of our stories with the Woodfordians.
I couldn’t finish this blog without mentioning Lucy Peach, who brought My Greatest Period Ever to us. I can only describe her performance as the most educational and yet hilarious and heart-warming cabaret show you’ll ever go to. Lucy will guide you through what happens in a month long cycle and how you can best look after yourself at each of these times. Essential watching if you menstruate or you know someone who does! Plus she sings and her husband is a great illustrator! On her website you’ll find links to several videos of Lucy doing her thing including a TED talk.
To book an appointment at the Launceston clinics (House of Prana or In-Balance) or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture). Sarah is an AHPRA registered acupuncturist, Chinese medicine practitioner and massage therapist.
