I learnt to close the bones in Cotacachi, Ecuador, with traditional Kichwa midwives, Martha Arotingo and her mother Luzmila. This practice goes back thousands of years and is central to postpartum recovery in Central and South America.

I have decided to embrace and honour this ritual to close the pregnancy physically, energetically and spiritually. For natural births, this can be done on the 5th day postpartum. For caesarean births, it’s best to wait a few weeks.

On a physical level, I reposition the uterus centrally, by hand, and with the help of a rebozo (scarf), and then I bind the mother’s hips and abdomen overnight using a sheet or a rebozo and faja (strap).

I offer a warm plant bath before the closing, and then I help the mum to bed, where she will rest and feed her baby overnight. It is a beautiful ritual - a gentle and nurturing transition from pregnancy and birth into motherhood.

Martha closing my bones 19 years after I had my baby!

Cost for Postnatal Home Visit

• €150 Cascais - Oeiras

• €170 Lisbon

• €180 Ericeira

• €180 Caparica