So often, debilitating symptoms like chronic pain and fatigue, hair loss, digestive issues, unpredictable mood swings, and painful periods are dismissed by conventional healthcare providers as a normal part of the motherhood experience caused by postpartum hormonal imbalance. Women are usually told there really isn’t anything that can be done.
But that’s far from the truth.
The Mama Thrive method is a proven 5-step framework providers can guide mothers through to restore vitality, reclaim mental well-being, and balance postpartum hormones.
5 important things to focus on in the postpartum period to rebalance hormones.
- Functional nutrition
- Better sleep
- Nervous system reset
- Cyclical living and rhythms
- Whole body support
I outline all five of these steps of the Mama Thrive method framework in detail in my book, Reclaiming Postpartum Wellness.
In the book, I also address that some women find themselves still affected by postpartum hormonal imbalance even after the needs for nutrition, sleep, and nervous system support are met.
4 Reasons for Lingering Postpartum Hormonal Imbalance
- Trauma – When women have experienced trauma anywhere in their lives and especially during pregnancy or birth, they often find they feel like it’s been dealt with but it continues to be a weed that keeps coming back.
Trauma, whether from pregnancy or birth or life before baby, can have a lasting impact on hormone balance. It’s important to be actively resolving and healing from any life trauma that has come to you, no matter how small you think it is. Trauma and any difficult situation that have left long negative imprints within you change your brain chemistry and even how your body functions. Actively seek avenues for healing. - Negative self-talk – When there is constant negativity, it’s easy to get thrown into a negative spiral that may feel like depression (or even make depression worse). Listen to the thoughts that are coming to you. If you are always telling yourself that you are “no good” or “stupid” or “ugly,” you will only create more of that in your life to prove you’re correct (this is just how psychology works). Negative self-talk is a terrible cycle that many don’t notice they’re in until it’s become a deeply ingrained habit. Speak kindly to yourself and use affirmations to help you. Journal often on it as things come up to help release the negative beliefs.
- Women have been told throughout history that emotions are “bad” and that feelings are simply “hormonal.” Because of this, women tend to hold back, force down their feelings, and remain quiet. This leads to big emotions like anger, rage, resentment, panic attacks, and more. These are surface emotions that feel out of control and are usually hiding deeper, more painful feelings (such as sadness, despair, feelings of unworthiness, and so on). Allow yourself to feel big emotions and get them out of your body. Holding onto emotions can increase powerlessness and negatively impact your body’s healing journey.
- Nearly 1 out of every 7 women experiences thyroid problems postpartum. There is a direct correlation between autoimmune issues of the thyroid and postpartum depression and/or anxiety. However, when an autoimmune issue arises during life after childbirth, it’s a sign that the body has been in a state of ill health for some time. Actively use this guide to support your health and consider support from a medical professional. It’s important to ask the question: WHY is the thyroid out of balance in postpartum for so many? The answer is not because you had a baby. Its root is in the fact that you have had little care and support in the way in which your body needed it most. To reverse that, you must go back and give your body what it needs most: nourishment, sleep, and emotional support.
For many women, the path to hormone imbalance is slow and steady.
Most women realize they are in need of additional support right around the time toddlerhood comes.
This is because your babe gets a bit more independent and you find yourself with some breathing room.
It’s also the time that addressing hormonal imbalance becomes incredibly urgent, because, after about 4 years, the symptoms you are experiencing notoriously transform into something far more complicated. This is the time when your body decides that this may be your new state of normal, and it will carry you through menopause.
If you or your clients are dealing with any of these challenging symptoms related to postpartum hormonal imbalance, the resources in the For Mamas category of Postpartum University are a great place to start!
