08/05/2024
The first 40 days
Not just 40 days, but the first 40 days.
There will be many more 40 days in your postpartum journey, which btw lasts a blessed lifetime.
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Inspired by Meg to explore the difference between the two and further conversations we’ve had around postpartum mental health and care.
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The first 40 days after birth are so formative as they are the blueprint for healing immediately after birth but also for the next 40 years of your physical, mental and spiritual health, so says Traditional Chinese Medicine.
I find myself using this analogy a lot recently; if birth was breaking your leg, then the first position we set the leg in would be most important and you’d be encouraged to rest up and stay off your feet for a at least 6 weeks.
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The first 40 days will pass, so they will, and the next 40 and time will keep rolling on.
The postpartum journey can be full of highs, lows and lots of in the middle, ‘normal’ bits. You will be amazed how time rolls by.
It’s important to remember that we (as a society) need to continue to care for all families of small children, not just during fresh postpartum period or the 4th trimester.
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We need to normalise asking for help and offering genuine help, in the way it needs to be received to be helpful.
That last part is very important.
For help to be truly helpful it needs to be given in a way that is peaceful and ‘helpful’ to the receiver-remembering it’s for them and not you.
We can all think of times sometimes has turned up to ‘help’ and it’s not been a productive experience.
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Whether the first 40 days or 40 years later it’s never too late to give yourself the postpartum love and rest you deserve.
We need a system over-haul in pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.
Start by giving that care to yourself❤️⭕️
