PURPOSE:
Ayurveda, one of the world’s oldest healing systems, offers a comprehensive framework for maternal health that prioritises physical, emotional, and energetic well-being. Despite growing global interest, its integration into maternity care remains limited. This abstract examines the significance of Ayurvedic postpartum practices in contemporary midwifery, focusing on how these methods help restore maternal balance and promote long-term healing.

DISCUSSION:
This presentation draws on classical Ayurvedic texts, clinical observations from midwife-led birth centres in India, and qualitative feedback from mothers (n = 300) who received Ayurvedic postpartum care. Practices examined include oil massage (abhyanga), yoni dhopanam (vaginal steaming), medicated baths (vethu kuli), dietary therapies (ahara), and herbal medicines such as Shatavari.resultsKey benefits observed include a Reduction in postpartum fatigue and anxiety enhanced lactation and digestion, Decrease in pelvic pain, backache, and insomnia, and improved emotional regulation and mother-infant bonding. Feedback also indicated greater maternal satisfaction with continuity of care when Ayurveda was integrated into postnatal midwifery visits

EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
Ayurveda offers a systematic, individualised approach to postpartum care, grounded in classical texts like the Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridaya. Modern research increasingly validates these techniques, which can improve uterine involution, reduce anxiety, and enhance lactation. By considering principles of dosha, agni, and ojas, practitioners can tailor care to each mother’s constitution, blending traditional wisdom with evidence-informed healing.

KEY MESSAGE:
Integrating Ayurveda into postpartum midwifery care addresses the physical, emotional, and energetic needs of mothers. Ayurvedic practices, including herbal baths, massage, warming diets, and vaginal therapies, support tissue repair, hormonal balance, lactation, and emotional well-being. Postpartum care can sometimes be overlooked, and Ayurveda offers a structured framework that encourages rest and recovery. These individualised, non-invasive methods align with the woman-centred model of midwifery, allowing caregivers to provide holistic and culturally-informed care that respects tradition while aiming to improve maternal outcomes and long-term wellness. Physiological - labour progress (including three-minute presentation competition)