By: Dr. Michelle Stanton DC
What has your postpartum journey looked like – currently, or following previous pregnancies?
Have you felt supported? Loved? Excited? Cared for? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? Painful? Depressed? Isolated?
In America, our postpartum care is grossly inadequate, especially when we compare it to other countries. For example, in Asia, recovery is the focus from day 1 after birth, as opposed to here in the states, where active recovery isn’t a specific concern until around 6 weeks postpartum.
Please hear me when I say: active recovery does NOT mean getting back into the gym. It means being intentional about healing. It means taking care of mom’s personal needs from DAY ONE, checking into her mental health, strengthening digestion, supporting circulation, and more. It means letting her know that taking care of herself is in turn caring for her baby, and that it is OK to tend to her own needs as well.
Some key ways to support yourself or the new mom in your life may include:
Keeping her warm
Feeding her nutrient dense foods like bone broth, organ meats, organic dairy (if tolerated), colorful vegetables, and fatty fish
Encouraging her to spend time skin to skin with baby, looking into his eyes, holding his hand, and talking or singing to him
…and then giving her have a break from baby if she desires - to nap, sit outside, shower, or whatever she does to feel like herself
Asking her to be honest with how she is feeling, and encouraging her to give herself permission to feel that way (if this is a spot where she gets stuck, read this blog post next)
Take her to be adjusted by her chiropractor to help the healing process along. Birth is an incredibly physical event, the body just took a hit and needs help to get back to homeostasis (it’s normal state).
At Prairie Sage we strive to support women during the postpartum period – immediate and beyond. Afterall, postpartum is for life! We give mom space to share her birth story, concerns, joys, and meet her where she is at in her journey. We can help with lingering pelvic, back, or joint pain following birth and the pregnancy. And while specific muscle group healing comes a little bit later, when the time comes we can help with specific and appropriate exercises to heal the pelvic floor and core (such as in cases of diastasis recti – separation of the abdominal muscles, incontinence, weakness, or pain).
Remember, once postpartum, always postpartum! This means that it’s never too late to begin your healing journey, even if it has been years since your last pregnancy. This also means that even if you have lost a pregnancy or child, there is still healing to be done - physically and emotionally. We hold space for you as well. You are seen and heard in this office.
There are many people that can and should be on a mom’s postpartum team, a chiropractor is just one of them. If you need help finding others to support you, we can help you do that as well! Our goal is to give mom what she needs, even when it goes beyond our office. Call the office to schedule or get more information about postpartum care!
(Psst…for more postpartum recovery talk, listen to this episode of our podcast!)