Just in time for Mother’s Day on Sunday, Kourtney Kardashian has shared her postpartum recovery plan.
In a new post for her lifestyle site, Poosh, Kardashian, 45, revealed that after welcoming her son, Rocky, with Travis Barker in November, she focused on self-care with fresh air, jazz music, warm food, dry hair, bodywork and hot baths.
Kardashian shares three other children — Mason, 14, Penelope, 11, and Reign, 9 — with ex Scott Disick.
The mom of four has been outspoken about her most recent postpartum experience, reflecting on the “pressure” women put on themselves to “bounce back,” saying she tries “to be kind” to herself while her “body finds a new normal.”
Certified doula, holistic nurse, trained midwife, womb healer and mother of two Nicole Love compared Kardashian’s postpartum journey to “a regrounding, a recentering into who the woman is now. She’s just been through such a big initiation and life process.”
“Your body totally changes and that deep postpartum window is different for everyone depending on how their birth goes,” Love explained to The Post. “There’s a lot that can be triggered for different people, and there’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach to recovery but I like the suggestions Kourtney gives.”
Love explores Kardashian’s postpartum plan, offering practical (and affordable) ways to make it work for you.
Warm foods and dry hair
Kardashian shared, “At the very beginning, it’s all about eating warm, nourishing foods, keeping hair dry and not going outside” — a recipe Love wholeheartedly supports.
She explains to The Post, “Your body is in deep-healing and repair mode and you want to keep it warm, and wet hair cools the body. You want fresh foods, anything that’s been frozen doesn’t have the vitality in it anymore. An innate part of postpartum care is that all food should be warm and nourishing but what nourishes is different for everyone.”
Love notes that while Kardashian can afford to have a chef prepare her postpartum meals, new moms without those means can create a support train of friends to bring them fresh food while they adjust to their changing bodies and schedules.
Jazz music
Kardashian recalled the soundtrack to her postpartum recovery, “I kept very cozy, nurturing vibes at home like drinking different hot teas throughout the day and playing relaxing jazz music.”
Love encourages new moms to listen to whatever sound soothes them the most, “Different music has different hertz frequencies and different hertz frequencies have different healing frequencies. To me, it’s subjective, whatever music is healing for you.”
Weekly Abhyanga massage
Part of Kardashian’s postpartum recovery included weekly massages. “It’s nice when mom can take an hour to herself and dad can take some extra time to bond with the baby,” she explained in Poosh.
Love couldn’t agree more, “Postpartum, our bodies have been through so much, so to be touched and loved up is extremely healing and also helps us reenter our bodies. In the process of birth, we transition from maiden to mother, it is a deep integration. Even if this is your third or fourth child it’s still another initiation of bringing a life through your body.”
Kardashian also sought out a type of massage called Abhyanga, which included “customized oils made with herbs specifically formulated” for her.
Love maintains that massage “is a self-love practice. It will help the mother nourish her body and feel loved and supported. When the mother is loved and supported, the whole family is loved and supported.”
Six weeks of seclusion
Kardashian followed the advice of specialists and limited her socialization in the first 40 days after Rocky’s birth, a practice of privacy Love endorses.
“Postpartum and particularly the first six weeks after birth, energetically, you’re still in the womb,” Love reasoned. “You need that time for everything to come back together. You are still really open, you need to get closed up physically and energetically for it to even feel [right] to go out in public.”
Physical exertion limits
Kardashian said she “did not run, jump or do any bouncing or sit-ups for the first six months” after giving birth — a regimen of rest that Love supports.
“The body just went through a massive shift and it is nice to be gentle with it as it starts to come back together. Doing gentle exercises that remind your body of how to come back together again is great,” Love advised.
While committed to taking it easy, Kardashian took daily outdoor strolls, a free and restorative choice for the postpartum body.
Love explains, “Nature nurtures us, so being outside in the fresh air is going to help us heal.”
Sitz bath soak
Kardashian’s nutrition specialist, Leona West Fox, recommends a soothing bath for postpartum discomfort that features plant-based oils like lavender, coconut and sweet almond, as well as herbal botanicals such as calendula, comfrey and yarrow.
Love admits this is a beautiful blend for recovery, noting that calendula and arnica are excellent choices for treating wounds. She also recommends soaking in a black tea bath, as it is affordable, and the tannins it contains promote vaginal healing.
In the end, Love recommends establishing a community-based system of support before delivery for those without the means for a private chef or a weekly session with a masseuse.
“People can do a beautiful ritual to honor the mother and celebrate who they are now,” she suggested. “Before the birth, or at the time of the baby shower, setting up a care train, maybe you bring food, maybe you bring a foot bath, maybe you donate some money for postpartum massages.”
Ultimately, Love views motherhood as a lifelong self-care practice: “When you have kids, you start to heal your childhood through them in a way, by loving them the way you didn’t get loved.”
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