Women have nine months to prepare for birth while pregnant, but there is significantly less focus on preparing for postpartum recovery during pregnancy. Mothers typically focus their energy on taking care of their baby, not themselves. Below you will find five tips to help you (or a new mother in your life) recover from childhood in a safe, healthy manner.
1. Take Care of the Pelvic Floor
Childbirth requires recovery, both psychically and emotionally. Before and after birth, it is important to take care of and heal your body’s pelvic floor. Some women need numbing medicine and painkillers, but others may need pelvic floor physiotherapy Burlington ON, a type of physical therapy designed to strengthen a torn and wounded pelvic floor brought on by childbirth.
2. Ease Into Exercise
Typically, your doctor will not recommend any exercise until six weeks after childbirth. When you are given the medical all-clear for exercise, do yourself a big favor, and ease slowly back into your favorite workouts. Six weeks is usually enough time to heal from the birthing experience, but your muscles will still be weaker and undoubtedly you will be tired. Go for a walk, take a dip in the pool, or start a light yoga regimen for your postnatal workouts.
3. Take Care of Yourself
A significant part of postpartum recovery should be taking care of your emotional and mental health. Postpartum anxiety and depression are serious concerns that need to be addressed professionally. Do not be afraid or ashamed to seek help from your doctor if you feel unlike yourself for several weeks after birth. While some emotional change can be chalked up to hormonal imbalance, too much isn’t good for you, your new baby, and your family, so be honest and forgiving with yourself, and seek help.
4. Accept Help
There will be many people that will offer help in the form of cooking meals, babysitting, and giving away gently used baby items. Don’t be afraid to accept help in any form from your friends and family. Let your friends create a meal calendar to bring you dinner; then, learn to say yes to a kind family member who wants to babysit. If you aren’t up to a date night just yet, someone can watch your infant at home while you finally shower and take a nap.
5. Everything Else Can Wait
Immediately following birth, your number one priorities should be the health and safety of your new baby and your own recovery. Don’t volunteer to host a gathering or party and don’t feel obligated to attend someone else’s if you don’t feel physically or mentally ready to do so. The pile of laundry can wait another day if you’re able to sleep when your baby sleeps. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be back to normal right away.
There is so much more information to be found about postpartum recovery in today’s world. Use whatever advice works for you and your day-to-day life with your new bundle of joy.
