Postpartum is rough

You have your lovely infant and spend 2 or 3 days in the hospital, depending on if you had a vaginal or cesarean delivery, then you are on your own. Hopefully you had some knowledgeable nurses in the hospital to help you figure out the breastfeeding thing. And if you took a Lamaze or other childbirth education class you have some pointers on how to read your infant's hunger ques, how to soothe your baby, and how to change a diaper.

But there may be a significant lack of support when you bring baby home. As a new mom you could be feeling overwhelmed and unsure of your parenting skills and the decisions you are making.

During this immediate postpartum time many new parents have family visiting to "help" with the baby. I say, choose wisely who you have at your home during this time. Some people feel the need to entertain these guests and keep their house clean. Well during this time you need people around you who will let you just relax and focus on baby. Those people are there to watch baby so you can take a shower. The new mom should not have meal planning and cooking responsibilities or bathroom cleaning duties.

This struggle is a bit of an American culture phenomenon where we as women think and may feel pressure that we can do it all. Why Are America’s Postpartum Practices So Rough on New Mothers? A friend of mine sent me this article and it got me thinking about my long term goal of becoming a postpartum Doula. This article is very enlightening as to how other countries treat their new moms and the lack of support we as American mom have during that time when we first bring baby home.

As a childbirth educator (I start my first class in October) I am focusing on helping women navigate their pregnancy and childbirth. I'm incorporating breastfeeding into my class as well, but what about the rest of the challenges that happen when you bring baby home? I hope to learn about these challenges and offer services in Jamestown that can help. I see another big step in supporting pregnant women in my future.



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