11/04/2021
*Real Talk*
There is so much preparation and focus on pregnancy and birth, but very few people talk about the postpartum phase.
I am very grateful that I had a healthy pregnancy and got the home water birth I wanted, and I assumed the postpartum phase would just unfold naturally. I took some prenatal classes and I did my training as a Naturopathic Doula so I thought “I got this”.
In reality, I struggled, a lot, I still am, and these struggles that new moms experience need to be talked about. Recovering from labour while adjusting to the needs of a brand new human who is adjusting to life earth-side with little-to-no sleep is hard. Crying fits (for us both!), 3-hr breastfeeding marathons, sleep deprivation, cracked ni***es, blocked ducts, and the stress of not producing enough milk to feed my baby is hard. But as all the mums I talk to say, it gets better. Day-by-day, it gets a little better, with some ups and downs of course. Now 7 weeks in, it’s better, it’s still hard, but it’s better. I feel a little more confident, a little more capable, with a lot more learning ahead.
So for all the new mums out there who may be struggling, you’re not alone. Reach out to your community and talk to other mums who’ve been through it. It’s hard, but as says, we can do hard things.
