Step 18: Postpartum Wellness

A woman’s body needs recovery time to heal after a birth, and this time may be longer if it was a cesarean.  Postpartum physical wellness is all encompassing and includes healthy eating, exercise,  and restful sleep.  As postpartum doulas we are not healthcare providers, nutritionists, or fitness experts, but we can provide support and information regarding general postpartum wellness. We encourage our clients to make healthy choices and follow any instructions provided by their healthcare providers. Some sections of this topic are links. These provide you with additional knowledge and also serve as a resource that you can share with your clients.

Click links below for text articles.

Postpartum Physical Wellness-nutrition-exercise

Self Care

Application and Understanding

1.  Name three of the most important benefits of exercising especially in the postpartum period.
2. When is the best time to begin exercising after a vaginal birth? Cesarean birth?
3. What is the most important nutritional advice for healing that you can give a new mother, especially one who is breastfeeding and/or one who is feeling depressed.
4. Name three ways you can help to encourage healthy nutrition in the postpartum period.
5. How would you respond to a seven-day postpartum mom who concerned about the extra remaining pounds following birth?
6. Name two things you can do to practice safety in the home.
7. Scenarios:

a. One of your doula friends has had a difficult birth.  She is emotionally distraught and begins to tell you about it mentioning the details.  As she talks, you find yourself becoming uncomfortable with the information she is sharing.  What would you do?

b. You have promised your children a vacation at the seashore and have rented an apartment there.  Two days before you leave, you receive a frantic call from a woman who is a friend of yours, and who is “losing it” in the first week at home, suffering from fatigue, a crying baby, sore nipples, and her partner is away on a work trip.  She has one other boy aged three.   She is exhausted and begs you to help her saying she has nobody else to turn to. What would you say? What would you do?

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