SO WE DECIDED

I always liked O’Henry’s story, ‘The last leaf’ as it tells you that ‘trust is truth’ and probably this is what I can say about my childbirth. When we decided to have Kadambari, we were not sure where, how and who will do the childbirth. The only thing we were sure was not to have here in a hospital; we wanted to follow something natural.

Choosing the Ayurvedic way was natural for us as we were following it for the past four years. We consulted our Vaidya and decided to follow the month-wise Ayurvedic regimen from the day the pregnancy was confirmed. This included ghee-based medicines, milk and a diet recommended during pregnancy. Whenever we told anyone about our Ayurvedic choice, everyone raised their eyebrows, including some of my Ayurvedic doctor friends. (They had their babies in an Allopathic hospital). Since it was the first time my vaidya was doing childbirth at her center, there was a lot of apprehension about the choice we made, in both our families.

Before my pregnancy we left Chennai and moved to Pune. As we were in Pune and the Vaidya in Chennai, it was all the more difficult. In the whole 7 full months that I was in Pune, I changed some four doctors because whenever I used to tell them that I would not take any Iron, folic acid, calcium or vitamin tablets, the doctors refused to check me.

I shifted to Chennai in my 8^th month of pregnancy. Dr.Girija, my vaidya had arranged two Dais (Maruthuvachi in Tamil) for me. They checked me and measured the womb with hands and did some calculations. They announced that the baby was going to be born in a particular week, which was much before the due date. And yes, their calculation was right.

In the 9^th month of pregnancy, a medicated oil enema (sneha vasti) was administered. Throughout the 9^th month, I was asked to apply Dhanvantara Thailam (a medicated oil) on the body especially hip, groin, thighs and sides of my chest. I also used a tampon soaked in medicated oil in my vaginal passage.

The labour was 18 hours long, but Dhanwantaram Thailam (medicated oil) was regularly applied on my whole body during this period. Oil was applied on the body, especially the sides of my chest, abdomen, back and thighs and I was given a hot bath, which was very soothing. After that, a gruel prepared from rice, milk and ghee was given for drinking.

I observed that whenever the Dai was checking the mouth of the uterus to measure the opening, she used to apply some oil and use her bare hands, without any gloves, but it made this process painless. I was walking all the time and the Dai assured me that the baby would come out only when it was unbearable for me to walk.

When it became difficult for me to walk, I was made to lie down on a bed, which was not so comfortable for me as my body was constantly urging me to sit up. So, when I decided to opt for half-sitting position on the floor with another woman supporting my back I felt more at ease. When the labour was intense and at its peak, there was a sudden drop in the frequency of contractions and pain and the labour did not progress. That is when my Vaidya asked me to inhale some medicinal powder (choornam), which helped me in getting back the frequency of contractions. Each time I inhaled the choornam, it was immediately followed by a major contraction. Now when I think of it, I was a good case for a C-section, but due to the inhalation and a lot of encouragement from some 11 women and one man (my husband), I gave birth to Kadambari. I was happy that the umbilical cord was not cut immediately after the birth; rather we waited for the placenta to come out. Then the cord was cut, and the placenta was buried in the soil as per custom. It was an inexpressible joy for me, as my Kadambari was healthy and fine and I escaped any kind of cut, whether Cesarean or episiotomy.

Later, I was given a medicinal powder (choornam) mixed with warm ghee. Dhanwantaram Thailam was applied around my abdomen, which was tied firmly with a cloth. I was made to lie down with Kadambari close to me. After the first day, I had no bleeding. Initially, I was on very light diet, consisting largely of Porridge (rice gruel). I was given Dasamoolarishtam, Jeerakadyarishtam and Sowbhagya Sunthi lehyam. I took these medicines for two months. I was back to my normal activities in two days, but I followed the Pathya (diet) for 60 days. I was on strict Ayurvedic diet (mostly milk) and various lehyams, and arishtas. All this has helped me to regain my strength and vitality very quickly.

We believe that trust is the most important thing in any process and especially in childbirth. Our struggle is not yet over as we opted for the Ayurvedic way and now we are trying to deal with our decision of not vaccinating Kadambari. We usually don’t tell people, as we find it very tiring to explain it and listen to all discouraging stories. We had full faith in ourselves and got a lot of encouragement from our Vaidya. Some of my friends still suggest that we can take Inactive Vaccination instead of a live one, as it is very common in Western countries, but then the whole point was not to introduce Kadambari to any active or inactive viruses.

We also decided that Kadambari would be exclusively on breast milk until we could postpone introducing supplement food. She was introduced Porridge (gruel) in the 10^th month and many relatives and friends also question this and say a lot about iron, proteins, vitamin deficiency etc. Now Kadambari is one year old and we are sure that time will tell that our decisions were honest and correct.

Introduction:

Vata Raktam is a painful disease of the joints. It is a consequence of aggravation of both vayu and blood (raktam). It starts in the extremities and as it becomes chronic, moves inwards affecting the bigger joints. If it is neglected for a long time, it can be a very painful and crippling disease.

Sometimes, individuals suffering from Vata raktam, go on for years without receiving any proper treatment. Painkillers are used to suppress the symptoms. This not only does not cure the disease, but also by masking the pain and postponing proper treatment, makes the disease more chronic. In the mean time, excessive consumption of painkillers leads to various side effects of these drugs. So, after sometime, the individual begins to suffer from these side effects than the original disease which is very much there deep inside the body. This is what happened to sekhar.

Case History:

Some years ago, he seems to have had pain in the legs. He used to neglect this, take (Allopathic) painkillers and go about his work. He is a very busy professional and had to travel constantly.

When he came to Sanjeevani in the last week of December 2006, he could barely walk. He was emaciated. He was a tall man (nearly 6ft.) with a big frame, and he weighed just 45 kgs. He needed help and support from others to take each step. He was pale, lacked appetite, could not swallow food and was severely anemic. (Hb count was 7). He was being fed through a tube connected to the stomach. He was not able to wear chappals, because he could not grip them with his toes. There was severe, shooting pain in the legs. His feet and ankles were swollen. There was pricking pain from the feet up to the knees. He had pain while sitting down.

At that time he was being treated for “ulcers” in one of the big Allopathic hospitals of Chennai. He had gone there with vomiting and bleeding piles. Endoscopy had revealed “ulcers”. There had been rapid weight loss. He had gone down from 70kg to 35 kg in a period of about 5 months. He was not able to swallow food. At that hospital they had put a “peg” through which liquid food was directly sent into the stomach. The (Allopathic) doctors had advised him to take a “rich” diet, so that he could put on weight. Diet included milk, ice creams etc. His bowel movement was normal. Sleep was disturbed.

Treatment at Sanjeevani:

Since his digestion had become severely impaired, the first thing done in Sanjeevani was to treat his digestion and also anemia. His Allopathic medicines were discontinued. The first prescription was sudarsana choornam, pippalyasavam and lohasavam. To make him consume food orally, instead of a tube through the “peg” was going to be the next major challenge. He was advised to get the “peg” removed from his stomach, and to start taking the medicines and food orally.

Within two weeks, his anemic condition had vastly improved. (Hb went up from 7 to 13). Appetite was much better. The “peg” remained, but he had started consuming food orally. Swelling in the feet had reduced. Pricking pain, from the feet to the knees, had reduced. He was given a prescription consisting of medicines and tonics, which were nourishing (Brmhana) and also took care of his Vata problem, which was giving him the pain. He was advised to get himself admitted to our Vaidyasala, so that his treatment and diet could be closely monitored.

In another ten days, his “peg” was removed. . There was some weight gain, from about 44 kg to about 48 kg. He was admitted to the Sanjeevani Vaidyasala on 26-1-07. At that time he had the following symptoms: pain from the ankles to the knees; numbness in the feet; pain and stiffness in the toes. He was not able to walk without support.

As an inpatient, he was maintained on a regulated diet and internal medication, with intensive treatment consisting of Sarvanga Dhara (pouring warm medicated oils all over the body lasting for an hour at a time) and frequent external application with a medicinal paste over his legs. After a few days of this treatment, the radiating pain from ankles to knees was not there; pain was localized in the ankles and toes. There was some mild swelling in the feet and numbness. In the first week, he was beginning to gain weight, was able to take more food – chapattis, meat soup, milk, etc. Gradually his strength increased. He was able to lift small things – like a cup. He still had pain in the feet, and he was not able to walk without support.

By the end of the first week of February, he began to take a few steps without support. There was no pain in his legs, but he had pins and needles sensation. He was improving steadily. By the 10^th of February, he started walking without support slowly. The pricking pain was confined to his feet, but the intensity of the pain had gone down. His weight had become 49 kg by now. By the third week of February, the pain in the legs had gone down further. He was able to sleep better. The pricking pain in the feet had also reduced. He was discharged on 25-2-07.

Condition of the patient after discharge:

After his discharge, he is being treated with medicines and appropriate diet for his Vata Rakta condition. He was administered madhuthailika vasti, which helped him gain strength and weight. He put on more weight, and now he weighs about 60kg. He is able to walk without any support. There is no pain in his legs now. He still has some tenderness and softness in the soles of feet and he continues with the treatment. Most importantly he has resumed full-fledged work at the office including some travel.

Case Study - Introduction

There are three major forces which are responsible for the proper functioning of the natural world – namely heat, cold and wind. Since the macrocosm (the universe) and the microcosm (the human being) are identical, the same forces namely wind, heat & cold are responsible for the functioning of the human body also. In the human body, they are known as Vata (wind), Pitta (heat) & Kapha (cold). So, a balanced state of Vata, Pitta & Kapha indicates a healthy state of the body. Any imbalance leads to disease. Therefore, each disease is a particular state of imbalance of these three factors. Vata, Pitta & Kapha are called “Dosha”.

Radha's Case study - Numbness & Loss of sensation

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Shekar's Case study - Victim of wrong treatment

Experience of a woman who opted to have her delivery at Sanjeevani