GARBHINI PARICHARYA- Beyond just prenatal care

“Woman is considered superior to man

 Because

 She is the one who possesses the route to bear a child” - Charaka.

    

            Ayurveda has stressed on this aspect of womanhood wherever possible- Her ability to procreate. She is the one who contributes the other half of the seed and also acts as a substratum for the fetus to grow and flourish. Therefore she forms the bija(seed) and kshetra(base), thus calling for more attention, health wise. Thus it’s not just antenatal care that Ayurveda is focusing on, but a comprehensive prenatal care or perhaps beyond. “A productive tree is that which grows in a well watered fertile soil, bearing a healthy seed”. Therefore garbhini paricharya mentioned by acharyas can be executed faithfully if the woman is in good health while entering into conception and is considered complete when she is able to get back to her own self post delivery. Thus all the below mentioned regimens should be taken into consideration while planning for conception.

1.       Rajaswalacharya ( regimen during menstruation)

2.       Rtukalacharya ( regimen during fertile period)

3.       Garbhadhana (Conception)

4.       Garbhini paricharya( regimen during pregnancy)

5.       Sukha prasava (regimen during labour)

6.       Sutikaparicharya (regimen for post-partum care)

Fulfilment of pre-requisites makes things easier for both the patient and the physician. Considering the fact that the fetus is the product of planned conception, the aforesaid garbhini paricharya (care of pregnant woman) has been explained. Like said earlier, this is just a part of the big picture. 

A bird’s eye view:

FIRST TRIMESTER

      First trimester is that phase when lots of division and differentiation occurs. The woman is suddenly exposed to a new set of hormones confusing her system in and out. She has a higher BMR as opposed to the commencement of nausea. So it becomes essential to supply her with food that simple to digest (laghu) but high in calories, that makes for quick absorption before the system throws up. At the same time, there is a mention about not taking any “avoidable” drugs during the period of organogenesis (kashyapa) for fear of undue interference in the development process. Therefore maximum nourishment with minimum external intervention is the aim. The best food matching the above said requirement would be MILK*. The regimen includes

·         Food that is  sweet predominant, liquid based and cold in potency

·         The woman should not go around experimenting and should stick to food that has been good to her all these years

·         Milk in quantity that can be digested by the individual. It’s purely subjective. Milk is best taken without any additives; if necessary she can sweeten it with honey and ghrta or add madhura/ jeevaniya gana drugs

·         Red rice (old) cooked with milk

1.      मधुर शीत द्रव प्राय आहार

2.      प्रकृति सात्म्य भोजनं (सायं प्रातश्च)

3.      क्षीर in अल्प मात्रा

4.      असंस्कृत

5.      मधुर औषधि सिद्ध

6.      मधु एवं घॄत सिद्ध

7.      शष्टिक शालि  cooked with milk

SECOND TRIMESTER

      Second trimester is when you actually start feeling pregnant. The nausea wears off. You begin to feel cheerful and yay there is the long awaited bump. People start noticing, acknowledging smiles everywhere and again you feel all yourself. This is the only one trimester that you, if truth be told, get to enjoy. That’s probably why acharyas have instructed to take food that pleases the preggo’s heart. Thoughtful. Very thoughtful indeed.:).  Reminder: that doesn’t permit deviation from the norm as the fetus is slowly and steadily growing, imbibing a lot more than you imagine and learning things from the mother, including choice of taste. The aim is to have your choice of food, in good quantity, bearing in mind the health quotient. Butter gives maximum energy and curd helps digest the food due to its potency. Drugs that are mild diuretics help to maintain the water metabolism. The regimen includes

·         Food that’s pleasing to the mind

·         Milk, butter, curd, ghee

·         Milk with butter

·         Shasti rice(old red rice) with curd, meat of wild animals (strength giving)

·         Yavagu and payasa (sweet dish)

·         Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) with milk or rice gruel

1.      हृध्यं च अन्नं

2.      दधि

3.      क्षीर

4.      सर्पि

5.      शष्टिक शालि ओदन + दधि + क्षीर

6.      क्षीर नवनीत संस्कृत आहार

7.      क्षीर सर्पि संस्कृत आहार

8.      मधुर औषधि सिद्ध सर्पि

9.      गोक्षुर सिद्ध सर्पि

THIRD  TRIMESTER

The third trimester is the most special of all. It can be termed the “genuine” waiting period. You become heavier, movements become sluggish; you feel dependent and miserable and to top it all, insomnia! All these coupled with the fervent excitement to see the little bundle of joy leads to anxiousness and apparent stress. The main aim here is to control vata while you are going berserk from within. This is achieved through the use of vatahara ,snigdha (oleating) therapy and basti (enema). Through this regimen, it’s possible to prime the body appropriately for upcoming labour and post delivery stress. This includes

·         Enabling proper movement of vata through ahara &aushadhi

·         Ghee with madhura gana/ prithakparnyadi gana (Uraria picta)

·         Yavagu with milk and ghrta

·         Basti

·         Treating kikkisa (itching) that later leads to striae

1.      वात अनुलोमन

2.      स्निग्ध यवगु (क्षीर) , जांगल रस

3.      आस्थापन बस्ति

4.      अनु्वासन बस्ति

5.      पृतक्पर्ण्यादि घृत

6.      किक्किस चिकित्सा

RELEVANCE IN MODERN ERA

·         Concept of pre-natal care needs to be re evaluated.

·         Increase awareness among masses

·         Need for research to set standards and make things easier to apply

·         Depleting resources is a cause for concern while treating using natural elements

·         Recognition by Govt. of India will only pave way for expanding the platform for all the above said.

* pure cow milk