Dr. Kristal Lau’s Bridges In Health is transforming modern healthcare by blending compassion, cultural sensitivity, and cutting-edge practices to create truly holistic care for new and experienced mums and their families. She empowers families through postpartum wellness and bridges gaps in care. Simply put, her platform is redefining what it means to thrive together.
Dr. Kristal Lau’s Bridges In Health (BiH) Platform for Mums
Postpartum wellness isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the cornerstone of ensuring that mothers, babies, and families thrive in those early months.
You’re about to read about Dr. Kristal Lau, an expert in postpartum wellness who has transformed how we view maternal health. Through her innovative Bridges In Health platform, she’s combined ancient traditions with modern healthcare practices, creating an empathetic, effective approach to supporting mothers and families.
Why a Platform Like Hers Was Necessary
When you think about health after childbirth, what comes to mind? Most people think, “Oh, we have to be cautious about postpartum depression.” That, postpartum depression, is the buzzword these days that’s synonymous with postpartum as a whole. But postpartum wellness goes far beyond mental health.
It encompasses physical recovery (which takes time!), emotional stability, mental clarity, and the ability to feel supported in that new phase of life. It also encompasses more than the mother-infant dyad – modern healthcare has forgotten that fathers and non-birthing partners are another core stakeholder of the postpartum period.
So, think of postpartum wellness like a holistic safety net, designed to catch mothers and fathers before they fall into exhaustion, frustration, or isolation. Without that net, new mothers and fathers may face extended recovery times, risk burning out frequently, risk postpartum depression, risk weakened emotional bonds with their babies, and even risk developing long-term health issues.
Postpartum wellness also isn’t just about surviving; it’s about shifting to and from survival mode and thriving mode in those tender first weeks and months, ensuring that every mother and father feels whole and every baby is nurtured in a stable environment.
The Link Between Conventional and Modern
That spot between old wisdom and new findings is where this mom of two shines spectacularly. As a postpartum wellness consultant, public health graduate, and former practicing physician, Dr. Lau has been helping mums and dads through various phases and unspoken challenges of pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and the life after.
So, really, what makes her unique? We’ll tell you. It’s that she doesn’t just lean on modern medicine and modern healthcare practices. She integrates the best of ancient Chinese Confinement postpartum practices — routines that have been passed down for generations — with evidence-based healthcare methods.
Her BiH platform does precisely what the name suggests: it builds a link between tradition and innovation, giving mothers and fathers the tools to help new moms recover effectively while respecting cultural practices that resonate with them.
Why Emotional Health Is Key
One of Dr. Lau’s primary focuses is using the 8 Pillars of European Lifestyle Medicine (she’s certified!) alongside her postpartum coaching session to develop health plans and goals with her postpartum clients. Too often, postpartum challenges are dismissed as primarily mental health or something every mom and dad just has to “get through.” However, untreated emotional struggles and not finding the root cause of postpartum struggles might escalate into unwanted postpartum mental health issues.
She emphasizes that a mother’s and father’s physical and mental health are the foundation for the entire family’s well-being. Period.
Five Elements of Postpartum Wellness: The BiH Framework
Their postpartum care philosophy is rooted in five key elements. Here they are in brief:
1. The Body
Let’s start with the basics: physical health and well-being of the postpartum Body. This involves nurturing the body in postpartum. It’s the physical recovery from childbirth. It’s everything a new mother and father needs to do to take care of their physical body’s health and sleep optimisation (keeping the machine working, so to speak).
Dr. Lau makes sure her clients understand the importance of rest, proper nutrition, and gentle exercises tailored to their unique postpartum needs. For example, traditional Chinese practices emphasize nutrient-rich foods like bone broths and herbal teas to replenish the body. Dr. Lau adapts the practices, offering modern-day solutions that are both practical and accessible.
This is also where Dr Lau applies the evidence-based recommendations guided by the 8 Pillars of European Lifestyle Medicine to set Body-related postpartum health goals with her clients.
2. The Mind
The postpartum Mind in BiH is our resilience, our stress coping strategies, our mental health, and our emotions. Sleep plays a part here too.
She encourages mothers and fathers to share their feelings openly and helps them identify signs of emotional distress early. If an existing stress coping mechanism isn’t working now in postpartum, it may be time to find or learn another one because the stakes have drastically changed.
3. The Self
It’s easy to lump Self with Mind because that’s what is normally done in many approaches to health. Dr Lau separates them in her BiH approach because Self in postpartum specifically refers to the process of becoming a mother (called Matrescence) and of becoming a father (called Patrescence).
Giving the postpartum Self its own place also allows Dr Lau and her clients to hone in on this aspect during coaching and goal setting. There’s grief involved, unlearning harmful narratives and relearning new ones, and a transformation internally and externally.
Sometimes, the postpartum Self just needs validation and support – not more coaching or advice which is what the other BiH postpartum wellness elements offer.
4. The Home
The postpartum Home pillar covers all the logistical and economical things that need to be in place for a new and growing family to prosper. Employment, navigating parental leave, budgeting, finances, childcare, pet-care, chores, housework, cooking, meals, and everything a family with a new baby would need.
This pillar also includes accessibility and the environment. Is there mold in the home? Noise pollution because of city living with a buzzing nightlife? Crime? How close are the grocery stores? Are pharmacies and doctors easy to reach?
Dr Lau loves discussing the Home with her clients because the built environment (hah, Dr Lau’s public health education is showing here!), her clients’ financial security, and accessibility to resources highly dictates how well a postpartum wellness plan can be executed by her clients.
We can’t just tell our mothers and fathers to achieve certain postpartum health goals if we don’t take into account whether they can afford the time, money, and energy to do so.
5. The Relationships
Postpartum isn’t a solo journey; it’s a family and community experience. We’ve been conditioned to think that postpartum only involves a new mother and the new baby. But what about fathers and non-birthing partners? The other children? Other adult dependents who may live in the same home? Pets? They are all directly affected by the change of family dynamics that a new baby brings.
On top of that, our extended family, professional, and friend relationships also change and evolve when we become parents because our priorities shift.
Dr. Lau works with partners and family members, including birth-workers and healthcare professionals, teaching them how to provide meaningful postpartum care and support. That might include recognizing signs of fatigue or depression in the mother (without being too clinical if Dr Lau is teaching non-clinical birth-workers) or showing grandparents how to respect boundaries while offering help.
Personalized Care Through Data
Another standout feature of Dr. Lau’s work is her focus on data-driven care. Here’s what that means: she sits with you to hear your thoughts and learn of your physical and emotional journey. She then uses those personal stories and experiences as a basis for your personalized postpartum plans. That’s the data she uses; your personal data points to complement evidence-based lifestyle recommendations.
For example, if a mother has a history of anemia, specific iron-rich meals or supplements might be recommended for her. If a client consistently struggles with managing time despite typical routines to keep things on track, Dr Lau would recommend her client to consider seeing a clinician to rule-out ADHD, sleep issues, or any other clinical condition that may be affecting executive function.
Why Every Mother Deserves The Bridges In Health Brand of Care
At its core, Dr. Lau’s mission is simple: to ensure that every mother, father, and family feels supported, no matter their background or circumstances. Whether it’s through her postpartum coaching services or her award-winning book, Postpartum 30, Dr. Lau is redefining what it means to care for mothers, fathers, and families.
Postpartum care isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. And thanks to experts, more parents and families are finally getting the care they deserve.
What Sets Bridges In Health Apart
Bridges In Health is more than a service; it’s a key to transforming lives. Unlike other healthcare initiatives, the platform focuses on meeting people where they are—emotionally, culturally, and logistically.
Here’s how it works:
- Designed for Inclusivity: The platform is meticulously tailored to fit the diverse needs of individuals. From postpartum wellness to navigating cultural healthcare dynamics, it covers a spectrum of vital issues.
- Empowering Providers and Patients: Through education, workshops, and direct consultation, BiH gives providers the tools to better understand their patients’ unique circumstances.
- Data-Driven Development: The platform helps identify gaps in care and suggests actionable solutions that enable progress by leveraging comprehensive data.
- Community-Centric Approach: It’s about individuals, but even more, it’s about building networks that allow families, providers, and communities to thrive together.
Every feature is carefully designed to address barriers to care, whether they’re rooted in financial constraints, lack of resources, or cultural misunderstandings.
Postpartum Wellness is Now Available and Accessible
Through BiH, an ecosystem has been created to meet mothers where they are. Her platform includes:
- Workshops and Training: Helping new mothers learn actionable strategies for recovery, and help new fathers navigate postpartum for themselves and the new mother.
- Community Support: Connecting mothers with one another to share their journeys.
- Resources and Tools: Offering easy-to-understand guides, videos, and checklists to make the postpartum period feel less overwhelming.
Join the Movement
The beauty of the platform is its inclusivity. Whether you’re a new mom, a healthcare professional, or someone passionate about improving lives, there’s a place for you here.
Here’s how you to join:
- Book a Consultation: Explore personalized wellness plans tailored to your needs.
- Attend a Workshop: Learn how to better support mothers, fathers, and families.
- Partner: Collaborate on projects that bring holistic care to more communities.
Together, let’s build a future where healthcare is more compassionate, more accessible, and more effective.
Why It All Matters
At its heart, Bridges In Health is about humanity. It’s about recognizing that healthcare isn’t just about cures and treatments—it’s about impacting lives for the better. Through her platform, Dr. Kristal Lau is proving that when we prioritize empathy, understanding, and inclusivity, everyone wins.
