Postpartum Care: Why Is It Important?

Honey bees can teach you a lot if you are keen enough to listen. And yes, post-partum care has a good connection to their story. So, here it goes!

Consider how they carefully arrange their colonies – they have the worker bees in various categories.

Some collect the nectar while others guard the hive. Then they have the Queen bee, who is the center of all attention. Her work is only to lay eggs and procreate for the entire hive.

What if she too was allowed to work her ass out for the colony? Do you think she would be as productive as she’s meant to be?

The same can be said for parents of a newborn who fail to practice self-care. It is impossible to reach maximum levels of productivity if you continually fail to take care of yourself.

Fine, it’s okay to carry the weight of the whole house on your shoulders. But who will carry yours? And, how to take care of yourself after giving birth?

Read on and see why postpartum self-care or a postpartum care plan is key for a productive marriage and family life.

Why bother at all?

The first year after the mother gives birth is a particularly pointing phase and post-pregnancy care is crucial to the entire family.

It is considered the most hectic period, and it is quite easy to find yourself lacking sufficient sleep, finding no time for yourself, or worse still falling into pre-natal depression.

The big problem is, while you think you’re only being selfless towards others and taking it all head-on, you are doing more harm than good to those around you.

It might become evident once you start protruding all the contained inward stress through being grumpy, shouting at your kids, or even failing to notice your partner.

In other words, once you have failed to practice self-care for moms, then you have neglected your whole family. You might even fail to see all the fun moments and memories of your child in their baby play gym.

Once you start noticing such tell-tale signs, it’s time to take a pause and consider postpartum care for mental health. If not for you, do it for the happiness of that little face.

Reasons for neglecting postpartum care in early motherhood

These reasons for neglecting postpartum care are common, and almost every modern mother can relate to them.

The biggest issue that seems to pop up time is that mothers have built this over-the-cloud kind of expectation, which is almost impossible to keep. It can be influenced by various reasons but the primary influencer is ‘social media’.

Social media has made it impossible for people to lead healthy lives. The bar set through adverts and people showing off the best part of their lives leads one into depression once they fail to achieve this bar.

What they don’t show you are the touching moments they go through – obviously, no one would never show you that. So, make sure you do not crumble in your set expectations and come short of taking care of yourself.

Self-care means taking a time-out

It’s pretty hard to convince a nursing mother that they need to put aside some time for themselves. The general mentality is that they are very selfish to either their spouse or their young one.

Others even go as far as thinking that self-care or postpartum care in early motherhood is akin to running away from your responsibilities!

Unfortunately, several top moms fail to cater to their needs due to the burden of expectations laid upon them by society. It would be best if you lived your life in such a way that you won’t regret any passing moment.

Consider the elements of postpartum care that will make you a happy mom from our picks below:

Learn to say NO

It would help if you made wise decisions at this stage. You don’t have to attend all the seminars and parent meetings in school.

Some volunteer work can also wait till you have more time – when your child is probably grown enough to recognize the difference between a car and a tractor.

You’ll be surprised at how much extra time you can make when you learn to prioritize.

When you say no to the unnecessary things at this stage, it would be much easier to agree to those postpartum care tips that will fulfill and replenish you.

Don’t lose sight of what’s important

Your marriage is important above all things – after all, you wouldn’t be nursing that child without that guy by your side.

Work towards creating special moments with your spouse as this will rejuvenate you. It will also give you ample time to talk out your heart on the underlying challenges – you’ll never miss this at any particular time.

Your spiritual life is also essential. Remember the peace it used to give you, or have you forgotten so easily? Take some time out and remember what peace you’ll find therein.

Remember who you are

Just because you’ve moved on to this stage of life doesn’t give you the go-ahead to forget who you were.

If you let go of your hobbies and what you used to love, life will not only become monotonous but also depressing since you will always feel like there’s something amiss.

Your friends, too, were a significant part of your life. Take occasional time-outs to recall the fun moments you had together. Get together during your postpartum care moments.

After all, self-care means you take care of every neglected part of you – the physical, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional.

Optimism is the key

The ultimate self-care key is optimism. Once you have your mind and heart eagerly expecting your next alone-time, you will remain motivated.

Your single moments could differ from person to person. For extroverts, it could be going out for a sport, a night out, or even a dance session. For introverts, it could be something as simple and fulfilling as reading a book.

Also watch:

Final thoughts

It is essential to identify the things that make you happy and those that alleviate your stress. You will know when stress is kicking in since you are in the best position to understand your body.

Walk away from the stressors or otherwise know how to manage them. 

If you sense any postpartum depression symptoms, remember that you are not alone. Also, do not shy away from seeking professional help if need be.

Remember, this isn’t the moment to be staying in your little cocoon – you need to open up to the world around you and talk to those people who matter most to you.

After all, a burden shared will lighten your load and make your process of postpartum care easy and manageable.

The post Postpartum Care: Why Is It Important? appeared first on Marriage.com Blog.

from Marriage.com Blog https://ift.tt/37yf8eI