NMC is a business that stems from love and respect, welcoming all races, religions, sexual orientations and identities.

I’m here to ensure every family knows how to care for a new mother.

Shelley Postpartum Chef

Shelley Rahim is wildly passionate about changing the culture of postpartum care in America. She believes families and friends want to do more than just drop off meals and help with chores–they want to offer loving care. Shelley understands families may be unsure how to do that but they are willing to learn new traditions and techniques to support the new mother in a meaningful way. Shelley’s expertise is just what they need!

New Mother Caregiving’s resources walk families through the process step-by-step ensuring that the care they provide is organized, thorough and nourishing. When this is the case, families heal, bond and thrive.

Together we will transform the state of postpartum care in America!

Shelley felt called to devote her life to serving mothers after becoming a mother herself in 1992. Finally, in 2007, after her third baby was born, she began her education and career working with families during the perinatal year.

Shelley’s expertise comes from a blend of personal life experience with formal education and professional training. Shelley has been cooking traditional “Ayurvedic” style food for thirty years and caring for her family with South Asian values taught to her by her Pakistani Mother-in-law. She continued to expand her knowledge about Ayurveda, pregnancy, birth and postpartum caregiving through years of professional training and in-the-field work.
Shelley’s advanced training with Sacred Window Studies as an Ayurvedic Postpartum Caregiver was the perfect compliment to skills and values that were passed to her by her Pakistani Mother-in-law.

Shelley’s style of postpartum caregiving is an authentic blend of East and West traditions, of which she infuses with love, wisdom and a deep reverence for every mother.

new mother caregiving
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Postpartum Caregiving: A collectivist cultural perspective vs Individualist cultural perspective.

Since the 1970s there has been a cultural expectation put on women to “do it all.” In this pursuit of perfection, the art of caregiving for new mothers fell by the wayside, resulting in an American culture that lacks understanding of the needs of postpartum mothers.

For example, my own American mother was a career oriented, single-mother who realized she lacked the skills and knowledge of how to care for me during the postpartum phase of motherhood. On the contrary, my Pakistani husband’s family knew what my needs were and how to pamper me for two months. Throughout my journey of becoming a mother-of-three, I have experienced both types of care; Southeast Asian postpartum traditions and American-style postpartum care. These experiences have inspired me to make it my life mission to understand why the American culture has lost this value and how I can help forge a new path for future generations.

It is my greatest hope to inspire families to revive postpartum traditions from their family lineage while utilizing my resources to develop caregiving skills and create new traditions to pass down for generations to come.
Polaroids-Doula
My commitment to feeding postpartum mothers nutritious meals was inspired by the first hospital birth I attended as a birth doula in 2011.
It had been a long 36 hour labor when the mother finally gave birth to her beautiful baby….at 2:00 AM. She hadn’t eaten for over 12 hours and, needless to say, she had worked very hard. She was starving! Sadly, her birth team (myself included) had nothing nutritious to offer her. The cafeteria was closed (not that this was a good option anyway), the labor nurse offered her jello and a box of apple juice. This wasn’t enough!
So her husband did what any good partner would do, he left the hospital in search of food in downtown San Diego. He was desperate for anything he could find that was open at 2:30 AM. He came back from a nearby gas station with a big pepperoni pizza and large soda with ice. The mother devoured it exclaiming, “Oh my god, this is the best meal I have ever had.”

I was horrified. I made a silent vow to properly feed every mother I serve from that point forward. Never again will I allow a post-birth mother to put junk food in her amazing, divine body again.

Since then, every birth I attend includes my homemade Ayurvedic post-birth recovery meals (that’s over 150 mothers I’ve nourished). I leave every birth knowing the mother is well nourished and the sustenance she received will help her body to heal and support her breastmilk production.
You can do the same! I’ve created an entire system for you to follow to ensure that you are properly prepared to be well nourished immediately after birthing your baby.

Click here for my FREE step-by-step guide on WHAT, WHY and HOW to nourish a mother immediately after birth:

No pizza after birth

New Mother Caregiving helps Mothers everywhere in the world!

“There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others.”

Nelson Mandela

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Check out Shelley's Postpartum Recipes for Nourishment and Health!

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