Post-partum care for Cat & Aeron ~ re-villaging in action

This little initiative is to pool our resources as a community (village) surrounding Cat, Aeron & baby for deep & necessary care after birth. This money could go towards a postpartum doula, regular bodywork for Cat, some emotional/psychological or relational support, extra cleaning support… whatever care they need to thrive in this particularly vulnerable, precious and transformational time of their lives.

Until recent human history, this care, that allows a mother to completely rest and heal, and parents to be present with and adjust to their new world, has always been embedded into the fabric of life. Physiologically speaking, the design of care across cultural traditions has common threads. These include warmth-warm bodies, warm foods, lots of rest for mother (way more than you think), some kind of abdominal massage for mother, conditions that keep parents safe and relaxed & available to tend to baby, emotional support from wise elders, and, community support. It is not a luxury. There is the understanding that the baby’s wellbeing and life-long health is contingent upon their mother’s and father's or co-parents (whomever they are closely attached to) wellbeing.

Here is one easy way, in addition to the meal train and any hands-on help that is asked for, that we can directly support their happiness & health & regulated nervous systems!

May we bring more of that into this wild world.

All the blessings to you Cat, Aeron and bub xx

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A personal note from Sam:

What inspired me to create this financial support for Cat & Aeron is a combination of my own lived experience as a new mother in our strange & fragmented world + my year of studies in traditional care for mothers & families through-out the child-bearing years. Looking at the similarities of practices across ancient cultures of the world, of which there are many. To be honest, it makes modern western culture look insane! There is an 'epidemic' of mothers with post-partum depression, anxiety and depletion - the opposite of how they are biologically set up to be feeling. And there are really simple physiological reasons for this, which have nothing much to do with the mother's mental health, and everything to do with her environment, her relationships, and the care that she receives. And of course, babies are entirely dependent on their mother's wellbeing. While they're young and their brain is forming rapidly they are being imprinted for life. So in that sense, the health of the entire planet depends on the health of the mother.

Luckily our immediate post-partum time was an incredibly beautiful & fortifying experience and that's ENTIRELY due to the support we received, which we planned and asked for. I was also studying the inherent physiologic design of baby care shortly after birthing my son, so implemented what I learned of the natural, healthy ways of healing from birth + parenting a newborn... a wisdom that has been increasingly distorted over the last few thousand years. Receiving regular bodywork, for example, like abdominal massage, to support organs to return to their places... This is found in some form, in old traditions ALL over the world, for good reason.

I could go on.

And so may we come together in this way of gifting money, particularly those unable to offer meals at their doorstep, loving presence, a hand with all the endless washing...

because we love them and because it's just so, so important for a healthy world.

With love

Sam