8 Practical Tips for Postpartum Wellness
Not feeling like yourself after having a baby? Feel like you’re losing your mind as a new mom? Are you angry and irritable with your partner all the time? These are all signs that you may need a little postpartum boost to keep you healthy and happy as a new mom.
As a psychotherapist focused on the postpartum period, I have worked with so many women who identify themselves as the problem, when from my perspective, many of the problems which arise postpartum have roots in a culture with a fundamental lack of support and education about the postpartum period. To help you through this transition, here are some practical postpartum tips to support a healthy body, mind, and spirit:
1. Find Your Tribe
The idea of going out to meet new moms when you are sleep deprived, hormonal, and living in your pajamas, can feel overwhelming. But having mom friends will be KEY to your survival into motherhood. There are tons of studies showing that circles of women help to regulate female hormones, and it can be incredibly helpful to have a supportive comrade who really understands what you’re going through while you’re in the postpartum trenches.
Austin enjoys so many great resources focused on helping moms find a network of support. These are some of my favorite local groups offering great ways to meet new moms:
Hike it baby: www.hikeitbaby.com/find-your-city/
The Circle: www.austin-born.com/classes/
Partners in Parenting: www.pipaustin.org/programs.html
Stroller Strides: www.austinmetro.fit4mom.com/#/today
Mother’s Unfolding: www.consciousbirthingaustin.com/mothers-unfolding/
2. Learn to Ask for Help
One of the hardest lessons you will learn postpartum is that you’re going to need some help. Chances are, the people around you will not be able to read your mind, and you will have to ask others to do something for you, and that’s okay. It seems that we’ve been conditioned to feel guilty or like a burden if we need to ask for help, but during this transitional period into motherhood, we need support more than ever. Hiring a postpartum doula or someone to help around the house, even temporarily, or just asking a friend or family member to babysit, are great ways to give yourself some support. So do it!
3. Tend Your Wounds
Childbirth is often a portal for unresolved wounds from childhood to come rushing back to the surface. The way in which you were mothered will take on a new significance when you become a mother yourself. If those feelings are negative or painful in some way, it can be helpful to try to address them. For a lot of women, through the early stages of motherhood, the feeling of needing their own mother can be very strong. If your birth mother is no longer with you, or is inaccessible, you may want to seek nurturance from a surrogate mother in the form of a therapist. Psychotherapy presents an opportunity to address problematic or stressed relationships with the women in your life and a chance to allow an accepting, nurturing female to hold the space and witness your pain, without judgment.
4. Make Self-Care a Priority
We know what a challenge it is to find quiet, downtime when you have a baby. But self-care during the postpartum period is the only way to stay sane. Our mothers, and our mother’s mothers, had far fewer opportunities to exercise self-care during their childbearing years. Consequently, many women today experience a ton of guilt or feelings of selfishness for taking time away from their baby. Remind yourself that we all deserve time to relax and replenish and rejuvenate. Make it a priority to schedule lunch with friends (sans baby), treat yourself to a massage or pedicure, go to yoga, or walk around Town Lake. Find an activity that nurtures your soul, and do it!
5. Trust Your Intuition
It is so easy to get confused by all the advice and opinions of others, and all that noise can start to drown out those gut feelings telling you what is right for your baby. In some ways, we have been trained to discount our instincts and intuitions. But, as moms, we are wired hormonally to our babies. A mother’s intuition is a gift, and working with a therapist can help you discern it and learn to listen to it.
6. Replenish Your Omega 3s
Through pregnancy and nursing, your body has been drained and depleted of vital nutrients, and in the postpartum period, it’s necessary to begin to rebuild those things. There is a ton of research showing the connection between Omega 3 supplementation and lower rates of postpartum depression (see referenced research studies), so be sure to replenish your Omega 3s.
7. Check Your Thyroid Function
Unbalanced thyroid functioning is common postpartum. Thyroid imbalance can masquerade as psychiatric symptoms of anxiety and depression. So, if you’re experiencing these symptoms, it is worth having a full thyroid panel to rule out physical underpinnings for mood symptoms.
8. Try Yoga Nidra for Insomnia
Insomnia is common in the postpartum period. Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation practice known as “yogic sleep.” Recent studies have found a 45-minute daily practice to be equivalent to the restorative effects of 3-4 hours of REM sleep. Therefore, this practice is solid gold for sleep-deprived moms.
Try my FREE yoga nidra for postpartum mood Mp3:
http://www.counselingfornewmoms.com/resources.html
Plus, check out my postpartum sleep hygiene handout:
http://www.counselingfornewmoms.com/blog/postpartum-sleep-hygiene
The first year postpartum will likely be the hardest year of your life. The chaos is temporary, yet our egos have a way of convincing us it’s permanent. You are doing a good job. You are the best mom for your baby, and you deserve self-care. Rinse. Repeat!
Kelli Foulkrod is a mama, yoga teacher, and postpartum healer with a focus on holistic health in Austin, Texas. As a founding board member of the Pregnancy and Postpartum Health Alliance she has been advocating for years to get new moms in Central Texas more support and access to alternative approaches to mental health. To learn more, check out:
Kelli Foulkrod, MS, LPA, RYT
Psychology Center of Austin
4425 S. Mopac Expressway, Ste. 502
Austin, TX 78745
512-200-3359
healing4mama@gmail.com
Facebook: @postpartumhealing
Instagram: @healingmamas
Austin Expecting is Austin’s most exhaustive prenatal, birth and postpartum resource directory. Find all your pregnancy care and service providers in our comprehensive directory. Stay up to date with all the goings on for expectant moms with our events calendar. Connect with Austin moms and providers by following our blog. The advice and opinions on this website are for informational purposes only. Do not use this information against the advice of your medical practitioner. Always consult your doctor or practitioner for any health-related issues you may be experiencing.