My Six Pillars of Postpartum Wellness

Planning

Just like you would invest a great amount of time and money planning for the transition into married life, it is equally as important to be prepared for your transition into motherhood. Creating a sanctuary for yourself to feel happy and secure, as well as considering what you would like the transition to look like is best done in the antenatal period.

Quite often the postpartum period is completely forgotten and when you are sleep deprived and uncomfortable it’s easy to become completely overwhelmed.

Together we will create a postpartum sanctuary plan to ensure the smoothest possible first 6 weeks. Together we will unpack your concerns and worries and then create a plan for you addressing matters like visitors, nutrition, self-care, relationships, sleep, feeding, support and so much more.

Culture and Community

According to the World Health Organisation “A lack of social support is a relatively potent risk factor for postpartum depression.” Being part of a mothering village and sharing openly and honestly about our lives can help you to feel less alone and equip you with more resilience.

The support and care that was once commonplace in a village was eroded by industrialisation when people moved to cities and away from extended families for work. Often, we now mother alone without the wisdom and comfort of grandmothers, mothers, aunts and friends to share the experience. It doesn’t have to be this way though! Building your community can be hard, particularly when it hasn’t been modelled for you.

Researching and choosing a network of care providers, as well as joining mothers’ groups or connecting with friends and community can help you to feel seen and heard. Tapping into your culture can also be important to recognise and give validation to your transition. Rituals can help mark the metamorphosis that occurs when a woman goes from maiden to mother, helping celebrate your new role and providing the reverence and acknowledgement this rite of passage deserves.

Support

In cultures with low incidents of postpartum mood disorders, one of the most important structures was functional assistance for the mother. Partners can take on some of this responsibility but often they are also sleep deprived or must head back to work. Asking for help and support is not something most of us are used to. Maybe your worried about being a burden, you don’t want to seem weak or even you don’t want to lose the control but raising a child was never meant to be a one-person job. It’s only in recent history has the concept of nuclear families, with one mum nurturing and one dad providing, been the norm.

As your postpartum doula my role is to help with practical and emotional support and I can offer this in many ways including: helping with the housekeeping and laundry, providing nutritional home-cooked meals, gentle massage, sibling care or often most importantly- a cup of tea and someone to listen. Support looks different for everyone and your needs and strengths are different to the next mother. That’s why we create a bespoke postpartum plan together, assessing what your situation is and how I can best be of support.

Rest

It goes without saying that lack of sleep can be the most challenging start to motherhood. These days we are usually encouraged to get back into ‘normal’ pre-baby life as soon as possible. But in so many parts of the world, rest is literally mandated. During this time a new mother is seen as vulnerable and sensitive, like her newborn baby. Bed rest after birth is a common cultural custom in African, Indian, Chinese, Korean and Arabic cultures. There’s a common saying that a new mother should have: one week in the bed, one week on the bed and one week around the bed.

There are many benefits to getting good rest: your body is able to heal completely, you have less chance of excessive bleeding, you have better chance to bond with your baby, you can process your feelings better and you have a much better chance at establishing breastfeeding.

The reality is that most babies wake very frequently throughout the day and night. It’s not going to be easy to recover and get your energy back if you are also trying to clean, cook and look after visitors during the day. Your only job should be to recover from the arduous nine months of pregnancy and the intensity of labour, whilst bonding with baby and practicing feeding. Leave the rest of the responsibilities and duties to everyone else. You are the most important person in your baby's world right now.

Warmth

The powerful dynamic between hot and cold are at the roots of many ancient medical systems including Chinese, Indian and Greek. In pregnancy a woman’s blood volume doubles to support her growing baby, boosting metabolism and increasing her body temperature. After birth, the loss of blood means a drop in temperature and a common belief is that when the temperature drops, the healing stops. The science behind it is actually pretty simple. Heat helps a lot of different types of aches and pains because of its ability to penetrate the skin and increase circulation.

Heat can be a powerful tool when breastfeeding. Heat, particularly moist heat, is recommended for a huge range of problems during breastfeeding including engorgement, clogged ducts, low milk supply, slow let-down, as well as general discomfort and soreness.

So, staying warm can be a powerful protocol in aiding your recovery. At Mothers Care Services this involves warm sitz baths, soothing herbals teas to sip, especially designed heat packs for feeding and recovering bellies and most importantly warm, nutritious food that aids your digestion.

Nutrition

After nine months of having your abdominal organs pushed into a tighter space, your digestion is considered to be a little slower and weaker than normal. Given the intensity of birth its often too overwhelming and you’re much too tired to consider cooking and trips to the health food shop for the long list of ingredients usually called for when preparing healthy meals.

Soupy foods, preferably vegetarian or smashed up in a warm state are optimal in the first weeks, as the moistness helps replenish liquids and prevent constipation. The Mothers Care Services menu includes warm food with ingredients such as:

• Turmeric with its anti-inflammatory properties, boosting immunity.

• Cumin to stimulate bowl movements and increase iron levels.

• Fennel to help milk production by increasing prolactin.

• Cinnamon, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory to increase blood flow.

• Cardamom to ease gastrointestinal spasms and swelling.

Not only will the food be nutritious but sometimes is just as important to be delicious- especially after birth. Did you know sharing yummy food can boost your oxytocin, the hormone also called the love drug which is especially important for bonding with your baby!