Ayurveda First 40 Days: Postpartum Care Guide, Diet, Herbs, and Routines

• 12 Sep, 2025
• Rohan Talvani
• 0 Comments

Forty days can set the tone for the next forty years of a mother’s health. That’s the promise behind the Ayurveda first 40 days-a focused phase of warmth, rest, and rebuilding after birth. You’re not signing up for strict confinement. You’re aiming for a plan that helps tissues heal, milk flow well, and your nervous system calm down, while staying grounded in real life and modern safety.

• The first 40 days in Ayurveda (Sutika Paricharya) is a six-week postpartum healing window focused on rest, warmth, digestion, and bonding.
• It’s flexible: use the principles alongside NHS/NICE postpartum care and your midwife’s guidance.
• Think warm, soft, simple foods; daily oiling; gentle movement; and boundaries around visitors and chores.
• Herbs like shatavari, fennel, and cumin are common, but go slow if you’re breastfeeding or on meds.
• Watch red flags: heavy bleeding, fever, severe pain, low mood-contact your GP, midwife, or 111 right away.

You likely came here to do a few jobs quickly and well:

• Understand what the “first 40 days” actually means and where it comes from.
• Get a week-by-week routine that works with modern life (and zero spare time).
• Know what to eat and what to skip, with UK-friendly shopping and easy recipes.
• Use herbs and self-care without risking breastfeeding or healing.
• Spot trouble early and know who to call.

What the Ayurvedic “First 40 Days” Really Means

Ayurveda treats the first six weeks after birth as a one-off physiological opening. Joints are loose, digestion is fragile, sleep is broken, and the nervous system is jumpy-Ayurveda calls that a Vata-dominant state. The goal is simple: reduce Vata (cold, light, mobile) with warmth, oil, soft foods, and rhythm. The classics-Charaka Samhita (Sutika Paricharya), Kashyapa Samhita, and Ashtanga Hridaya-outline rest, oiling, light soups, and gradual return to activity. The details vary by region and lineage, but the north star is the same: rebuild ojas (deep vitality) and support lactation while protecting digestion.

So, is it a strict 40-day lockdown? No. Traditional rules were built around extended family support and no central heating. You can apply the principles without isolating yourself. Think: shorter to-do lists, warmer meals, fewer cold smoothies, and a gentler schedule. Pair these with modern care-NICE postnatal guidelines (UK) recommend routine checks up to 6-8 weeks; the WHO places strong emphasis on early postpartum visits. Lean on your midwife, health visitor, and GP. Ayurveda adds comfort, routine, and nutrition; it doesn’t replace medical care.

Key goals in plain language:

• Calm your system: warmth, oil, steady meals, low noise, kind boundaries.
• Heal tissues: protein, iron (if needed), vitamin C, zinc, rest, gentle circulation.
• Support milk: hydration, frequent feeds, relaxed nervous system, simple spices.
• Prevent issues: avoid constipation, chills, overexertion, and crash diets.

Evidence check. Traditional texts propose the plan; modern research backs parts of it: warmth helps muscle relaxation; daily touch lowers cortisol; protein and hydration support recovery and lactation; structured rest reduces fatigue. Small Indian trials suggest shatavari may support milk volume in some mothers, but results are mixed and not definitive. Always balance tradition with safety-especially if you had a C-section, complex delivery, or are on medications.

Week-by-Week: Food, Routines, Movement, and Boundaries

Use this as a menu of options, not a rulebook. If you live somewhere chilly like Birmingham in February, double down on warmth. If you’re doing this in July, you’ll still prioritise warm meals and oiling, just with lighter textures.

Days 0-3: Settle and Soothe

• Food: thin warm soups and broths; rice congee or kitchari (soft rice and mung); stewed apples or pears; add ghee for lubrication. Spices: tiny amounts of ginger, cumin, fennel. Avoid raw salads and heavy fried foods.
• Hydration: warm water or fennel-cumin tea every hour or two; sip to thirst. If breastfeeding, keep a flask by the bed.
• Body care: gentle warm compress on lower back; no abdominal massage if you had a C-section. If vaginal birth, a light oil rub on feet and calves can help sleep.
• Movement: bedrest with frequent position changes; ankle pumps; short hallway walks with support. No stairs alone if dizzy.
• Visitors: one or two helpful people only. You can say, “We’re resting this week-short visits welcome if you’re bringing a meal.”

Days 4-10: Build Rhythm and Digestion

• Food: thicker soups; kitchari with carrots, courgette, squash; dal tempered with cumin, asafoetida, and ghee; porridge with stewed fruit. Add soaked almonds if tolerated.
• Hydration: aim for pale yellow urine; warm drinks still rule. Add pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon to a cup or two for electrolytes if you’re sweaty and feeding often.
• Body care: daily warm oil massage (abhyanga) before a quick shower-sesame oil if you run cold, almond if you tend to heat up. Skip oil on/near a C‑section wound until cleared.
• Movement: 5-10 minute gentle walks, pelvic floor squeezes (think “lift and hold” for 5 seconds, 10 reps). Avoid planks, sit-ups, and lifting anything heavier than the baby plus car seat.
• Sleep: nap once during the day, even 15 minutes. Use earplugs or a white noise track if your brain won’t switch off.

Days 11-21: Gradual Strengthening

• Food: keep meals soft but more substantial-shepherd’s pie with mash, bone broth soups, tender fish curry, egg bhurji, or tofu scramble if vegan. Add herbs like dill, fenugreek leaves (methi), and coriander.
• Herbs: consider low-dose shatavari, fennel, dill, and cumin for digestion and lactation. If you’re on SSRIs, blood thinners, or thyroid meds, check with your GP first.
• Body care: continue daily oiling; consider gentle lower‑belly warm packs after vaginal birth. If C‑section, protect the scar; no belly binding yet unless your surgeon or physio okays it.
• Movement: 15-20 minute walks; start pelvic tilts and breath‑led core reconnection (exhale to engage pelvic floor and deep core). Still avoid high impact.
• Mind: short guided relaxation or yoga nidra, 10 minutes. It changes the tone of the day.

Days 22-40: Return to Light Normal

• Food: keep warm and digestible, but diversify-oats, rice, quinoa; stews; soft roasted veg; gentle spices; good fats (ghee, olive oil). Add berries, citrus, and peppers for vitamin C.
• Hydration: steady sipping; a cup of milk with cardamom at night if you tolerate dairy.
• Body care: if bleeding is settled and any C‑section wound is well healed, talk to your physio about belly support. Use wide, breathable wraps; wear for short periods; stop if you feel pressure downwards.
• Movement: 20-30 minute brisk walks; add light resistance bands; book a pelvic health physio check around 6 weeks before starting running or heavy lifting.
• Social: re-open your calendar slowly. Protect one “no plans” day per week to reset.

Quick rules of thumb:

• If you feel cold, anxious, or dry: add oil, soup, and warmer spices.
• If you feel heavy, sluggish, or puffy: lighten textures; add ginger, black pepper, and short walks.
• If constipation hits: more warm water, 1-2 tsp ghee in porridge, stewed prunes, and gentle abdominal clockwise self‑massage (not after C‑section).
• If you’re ravenous but gassy: smaller, more frequent meals; chew well; reduce beans for a few days; use asafoetida.

Meals, Examples, Herbs, and a Handy Checklist

Here’s a simple UK‑friendly playbook that works whether you shop at an Indian grocer in Sparkhill or a supermarket down the road.

Example day (vaginal birth, breastfeeding):

• On waking: warm fennel-cumin tea.
• Breakfast: porridge cooked with milk or oat milk, ghee or almond butter, stewed apple, cinnamon.
• Snack: soft boiled egg or tofu, a few soaked almonds.
• Lunch: kitchari (rice + split mung) with carrots and courgette, tempered with cumin, ginger, and ghee; side of beetroot raita or coconut yogurt with dill.
• Snack: bone broth or veg broth; ripe banana mashed with tahini if constipated.
• Dinner: chicken soup with rice noodles; or chickpea stew with squash and spinach; drizzle of olive oil.
• Before bed: warm milk with cardamom and a pinch of nutmeg if sleep is rough.

Example day (C-section, week 2):

• On waking: warm ginger tea with honey (if not diabetic).
• Breakfast: soft scrambled eggs with ghee and dill on buttered toast; or tofu scramble with turmeric.
• Lunch: lentil soup with lemon and parsley; soft rice on the side.
• Snack: yogurt or coconut yogurt; stewed pears.
• Dinner: salmon and potato mash with peas; or paneer and spinach curry with rice.
• Extras: vitamin C‑rich foods for wound healing; protein at each meal; avoid heavy abdominal pressure or tight wraps.

Herbs and spices used traditionally (go low and slow):

• Digestive and milk-friendly: cumin, fennel, dill, fenugreek leaves, ajwain (carom), ginger.
• Tonic herbs: shatavari (mild lactation and cooling support in small trials), ashwagandha (avoid if thyroid issues or sedatives; usually not first-line when breastfeeding).
• Start with teas and cooking; only use capsules after checking meds and allergies with a clinician or qualified Ayurvedic practitioner.

Shopping checklist (first 2 weeks):

• Grains: white rice, oats, semolina.
• Protein: split mung dal, red lentils, eggs, chicken, tofu/paneer, salmon or mackerel (for DHA).
• Veg and fruit: carrots, courgette, squash, spinach, beetroot, pears, apples, berries.
• Fats: ghee, olive oil, sesame oil (for body), almond oil (body), nut butters.
• Flavour: cumin, fennel, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, asafoetida, cardamom, dill.
• Extras: bone broth cubes or stock, prunes, lemon, coconut yogurt, whole milk or plant milk fortified with calcium and iodine.

Core nutrients to have an eye on while breastfeeding or recovering:

Notes: Vitamin D 10 μg/day is widely recommended in the UK for adults year‑round. Iron supplements are often prescribed only if anaemic. These ranges reflect common UK baselines and typical lactation targets from public health and clinical nutrition guidance; use your GP’s advice if it differs.

Pitfalls to avoid:

• Cold smoothies and large salads in week 1-2-they can bloat and chill you.
• Skipping fats-ghee/olive oil help with hormones, energy, and constipation.
• Spicy overload-chilli can upset sensitive digestion and some babies.
• Late bedtimes-pick one early night anchor, even if nights are broken.
• Hero mode-if you’re standing to cook for an hour, you’re doing too much.

Mini‑FAQ, Risks, and Next Steps

Is 40 days a hard rule? No. Think “first six weeks” as a healing arc. Some people need eight weeks. The principle is steady progress, not the calendar.

What if I had a C‑section? Keep the core very gentle. No belly binding until your surgeon or physio approves. Prioritise protein, vitamin C, zinc, and iron if advised. No oil or pressure on the scar; keep it clean and dry. Short, frequent walks help circulation.

Can I fast to lose baby weight? Not in this window. Undereating can reduce milk supply and slow healing. Weight tends to shift later when sleep and hormones stabilise. Talk to your GP or dietitian if weight is a concern.

Is sex okay? Many are not ready until bleeding stops and any tears heal-often after 4-6 weeks. Use lubrication; pelvic floor exercises help comfort. If there’s pain or fear, a pelvic health physio can help.

Which herbs are actually worth it? Start with kitchen spices: cumin, fennel, dill, ginger. Shatavari is traditional for lactation and cooling; small trials are encouraging but not definitive. If you have oestrogen‑sensitive conditions or are on meds, check with your GP.

What about coffee? One small cup can be fine for many, but some babies are sensitive. If you notice jitteriness or poor sleep in baby, scale back. Try chai with less caffeine.

Vegan here-any special notes? Make protein a priority (tofu, tempeh, lentils, beans), add tahini and nuts, and consider B12 and algae‑based DHA. Use fortified plant milks for calcium and iodine.

How do I actually rest with no help? Shortcuts: grocery delivery; batch cook kitchari and soups; accept visitor‑meals only; paper plates for two weeks if it saves your back; nap during one baby nap every other day (set a 20‑minute timer). Boundaries are medicine.

When should I call for help?

• Heavy bleeding (soaking through pads hourly), clots bigger than a golf ball, fever, foul‑smelling discharge.
• Severe headache, chest pain, breathlessness, calf pain/swelling.
• Worsening wound pain or opening.
• Low mood, intrusive thoughts, or anxiety that won’t let up. Postnatal depression and anxiety are common and treatable-talk to your GP, midwife, or call 111 if unsure.

Decision tips to customise your 40 days:

• If you’re always cold and anxious: sesame oil massage, ginger‑cumin in most meals, warm socks, heated room at night.
• If you’re hot and irritable: almond oil for massage, coriander and fennel tea, lighter soups, keep chilli minimal.
• If milk seems low: nurse/express more often (supply follows demand), hydrate, try fennel/dill tea, and see a lactation consultant. Herbs are add‑ons, not fixes.
• If sleep is broken: reduce late‑day caffeine, dim lights at 8 pm, a warm bath or foot soak, and 10 minutes of yoga nidra.

Credibility notes: Sutika Paricharya guidance comes from classical texts (Charaka, Kashyapa, Ashtanga Hridaya). Modern postpartum checks and supplementation reflect NHS/NICE and WHO postpartum care timelines. Nutrient ranges use common UK public health baselines and clinical nutrition targets for lactation. If your clinician’s advice differs, follow it.

Next steps for different situations:

• First baby, vaginal birth: use the week‑by‑week plan; book a pelvic health physio for 6-8 weeks.
• C‑section or forceps: prioritise wound care, protein, and gentle mobility; schedule a scar check and a physio assessment.
• Breastfeeding difficulties: line up an IBCLC lactation consult; keep warm meals and hydration steady; try side‑lying feeds to rest.
• No family support: arrange a meal train, buy frozen soups, and outsource cleaning for a month if you can.
• Winter in the UK: heat the bedroom, wear warm layers, and avoid cold drinks completely in the first 2 weeks.

You don’t have to tick every Ayurvedic box to get the benefits. Do the basics well-warm food, daily oil, gentle walks, early nights, and kind boundaries-and you’ll feel the shift. The first 40 days aren’t magic; they’re momentum.