84 Burnett St Bundaberg
Are you expecting a baby soon, or have just given birth? Taking care of yourself as well as your baby can feel like overwhelming for many parents. But the mother needs just as much care as baby during the initial few months – this is what’s known as the fourth trimester.
If you need some simple tips to help navigate through this time, here are our best ideas for how to take care of yourself post-partum.
Prepare in advance
Take advantage of the nesting instinct in your third trimester and get as much prepared as you can. There’s a good chance that you’ll forget or struggle to have the energy to do a lot of things after baby is born! Consider:
Recruit as much help as possible
This is one of the best tips that we can give because you cannot do it all. Remember that your body and mind is going through an intense period of change, and that makes it much harder to do the things you usually find easy!
How you get help depends on your budget, your support system and your preferences. But some good options include:
Even if you’re on a tighter budget, you can consider ways to take up less of your time and energy. For example, you can order your groceries online to be delivered instead of going to the supermarket with baby in tow.
Focus on nourishing foods
Your body needs a lot of nutrition to recover from birth as well as supporting a new baby. Of course, it’s fine to enjoy your favourite foods and snacks still. But overall, we want to focus on deeply nourishing foods to help you recover fully.
This can include:
Haven’t had a chance to prep meals before birth? Simply add one extra wholefood into your meal or snack as a starting point. For example, if you’re having a cheese omelette, slice up a mushroom and add that in. Or if you’re making porridge, add a spoonful of chia seeds.
Stay hydrated
Getting plenty of fluids in is a must during the post-partum period. If you choose to breastfeed, you have a much higher fluid requirement to keep yourself hydrated. But even if you opt for formula feeding, your body still needs plenty of water to support the healing process.
Find a way of staying hydrated that works for you. You might like to have a few water bottles around the house where you spend time to remind you, or you might like to find a new herbal tea or sparkling water you enjoy if you’re not a big fan of plain water.
Rest as frequently as you can
This goes without saying, as many new mothers are exhausted! But the saying ‘sleep when your baby sleeps’ is often not enough to help combat this fatigue.
Instead, you’ll want to consider:
Add in some self-care appointments
Taking care of your baby is important, but it’s just as critical to take care of you. Make sure you schedule in some appointments with your regular healthcare practitioners.
One modality we highly recommend for post-partum mothers is acupuncture. Acupuncture is used to help relieve symptoms of pain and stress, both of which are common in the post-partum period.
Whether you’re pregnant or post-natal, the team at Burnett House is here to support you on your journey.
Our naturopath Trish can help to optimize your diet and lifestyle, so you can recover fully and prevent potential long-term health concerns. She can also discuss whether herbs, nutrients and other supplements are warranted for your needs and goals.
Our acupuncturist Jamie can help to relieve pain and stress that is common for mothers to experience throughout pregnancy and post-partum. Jamie also offers pregnancy acupuncture and post-natal acupuncture options to help you on your healing journey.
To book an appointment with Trish or Jamie at our Bundaberg clinic, call us on (07) 41522372
