Postnatal Recovery: Why Rest Looks Different For Every Mum

My thoughts on rest and mental health after birth...

Recently I've seen a lot of posts on social media advising that new mums should spend at least the first month of their baby's life doing as little as possible.

Ideally staying in bed, with everything they need set up in their bedroom and a circle of friends and family bringing food, doing the laundry and sorting out the washing up.

And yes, allowing time to rest, heal and recover from what your body has been through during pregnancy and birth is important.

But what about psychologically?

A lot of the mums I work with (as a mental health nurse and doula) would absolutely hate this.

For some women, spending weeks at home doing very little might actually make them feel worse.

What they might need is to put on some clothes and go for a walk, or meet a friend for coffee, or even check their work emails (shock horror!).

Not because they should, or they need to "bounce back", but because those things help them maintain some connection with the person they were before they had a baby.

I don't think it's helpful to prescribe one particular way of doing things as a new mum. Maybe a month in bed sounds idyllic, and that rest is exactly what you need.

Or you might need fresh air, to get out of the house, some familiarity, or little pieces of your old life.

That's why my postnatal support includes antenatal sessions so I can get to know you: what keeps you well, what tends to make things harder, what support you already have and what you need from me.

Because I don’t want to tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing after you’ve had your baby. I want to know what’s actually going to help you cope and feel well.

Have a look at my "Calm & Supported" postnatal package to see if it's right for you.