Planning for Postpartum

We often see families spending much of their time during pregnancy preparing for the birth of their baby. Families spend time thinking about how their transition into parenthood will be. There is so much unknown during the journey into parenthood, whether it is your first or your fifth baby. Today we are here to talk about planning for postpartum.

Why plan for postpartum?

During the postpartum period, hormones are changing and flushing through your system; your body is different, you are different! You have a new being that you are solely responsible for, with them brings a new job in life, parenthood. Preparing for postpartum and having resources set aside ahead of time dramatically makes a difference during the postpartum period. This time is the initial part of your life as a parent; it’s a huge adjustment, and the more planning and preparation for postpartum you have done, the easier this transition may be.

Postpartum traditions around the world

There are many different traditions around the world that all involve their own postpartum healing processes and rituals. In most cultures, postpartum traditions get passed from generation to generation. In many cultures, the support that a woman receives postpartum is thought to affect her vitality for the rest of her life. Postpartum practices are considered very important, and there is often a lot of outside help from caregivers, family members, midwives, and more. These postpartum traditions may include rest, nourishment, warmth, hydration, massage, and emotional support for the birthing person.

America has fewer postpartum practices than most places around the world. Standard postpartum care in America is limited. After all, birthing people aren’t typically seen for their postpartum checkup until six weeks postpartum! This can make the transition into parenthood feel isolating. We encourage you to look at different postpartum recovery and care methods and incorporate ones that feel good to you into your postpartum period.

Everyone’s recovery and experience is different

Everyone has different experiences postpartum; we are all different after all. In almost all families, we see that the less the birthing person has to worry about in terms of; housework, cooking, tending to other family members, work, and other daily tasks, the easier their postpartum healing and transition is. The initial postpartum period is between six to eight weeks. For some, the postpartum period is longer. While we cannot predict exactly how this transition will be, we can prepare ourselves and our homes to make this new beginning as smooth as possible! We recommend planning for additional support during this period.

So how can I plan for postpartum?

Support, support, support! The more help you can get from your partner, friends, family, postpartum doula, etc., the more time you will have to rest, bond with your baby, receive nourishment, and heal. Support looks very different for each family. For yours, it may mean someone is handling all lunches and dinners for the first month your baby is born; for others, it may mean you have someone coming to take care of your older kid’s needs. It also could include a house cleaner or a friend coming to help with some simple household tasks a few times a week.

Whichever support system you choose postpartum, we recommend making sure someone can walk through the emotional processes with you in a nonjudgemental and caring way, as well as help care for the household and day-to-day tasks. Many feelings may come up postpartum, and it is important to have someone to listen with care during this time.

Should I hire a postpartum doula?

A postpartum doula is someone that seamlessly handles the day to day while you are healing so that you can rest, adjust, and recover. Each day your postpartum doula is there they will check in with you and your family. Postpartum doula’s primary focus is on the birthing person and all of their needs; this trickles down to baby care, home care, emotional support, sibling care, meal preparation, feeding support, self-care practices, and so much more!

Your postpartum doula will be your go-to person postpartum, changing their ways and day to day responsibilities as you transition through each phase of your postpartum period. Doula care is entirely customizable, and your doula is there to meet your immediate needs. This can translate to-day support or night support, or a combination, whatever is best for your individual family. While planning for postpartum, we highly recommend exploring postpartum doula care as an option, please contact Bay City Doulas; our team of experts is here for you!

Let’s start planning for postpartum!

Here is a list of few simple recommendations that can be helpful to you postpartum. Please feel free to print this out and use it as a resource!

Recomendations:

1. Plan a grocery list of your usual items, this way, someone can easily do your grocery shopping without you needing to put much thought into it.
2. Freeze a couple of meals! Having a meal that can be easily heated up is so helpful!
3. Make a list of how to use your dishwasher, washing machine, etc., so that if you need some help with these things, you do not need to answer questions.

My resources for additional help : 

1. My main support system postpartum will be _____________.

2. If I need additional support I will call _______________.

3. For emotional support I will call ___________________.

4. ________________will handle my grocery shopping and errands.

5. If I need help with my older kids _____________can take them for an hour or two.

6. My pediatricians phone number is ____________.

7. My OB/ midwives phone number is _______________.

8. If I need additional help with infant feeding I will call __________________.

Wrapping it up

Congratulations! Considering your options is the first step to postpartum success! Please refer to this blog as a resource while making your considerations for your postpartum period. Ultimately, we are all individuals with different needs, so please remember that while planning as well! We hope this blog was helpful to you during this process.

We hope you found this week’s blog “preparing for Postpartum” helpful. For more blogs on all things pregnancy, birth, parenthood, and postpartum please visit our weekly blog.