Balancing postpartum hormones is crucial for overall well-being, yet many women find themselves in the years postpartum struggling with symptoms such as digestive issues, autoimmune diseases, hair loss, and extreme fatigue that are a direct result of hormonal imbalance.
However, the good news is that you do not have to accept this as your new normal way of life and there are practical steps you can take to regain control over your hormones and improve your quality of life.
In this blog post, we will explore seven secrets to balancing postpartum hormones.
By implementing these secrets into your lifestyle, you can experience positive changes and alleviate symptoms related to hormonal imbalances.
1. You Control a Lot of Your Hormones
Contrary to popular belief, you have significant control over your hormones. Especially in the postpartum period, when women discuss frustrating symptoms with healthcare providers they’re often told, “It’s just your hormones.” The truth is having a baby does not equal hormonal imbalance!
Your nutrient levels, quality of sleep, self-talk, trauma experiences, and environment all shape the way your hormones work within you. It’s never just a “chemical imbalance.”
2. Postpartum Hormones Aren’t Naturally Out of Balance
Your hormones in postpartum are in a natural state of flux, shifting to accommodate the new body changes taking place. This is a biologically normal process and by no means is an “imbalance.” However, without the right support, these hormones can and often do, get unbalanced and unstable quickly.
A new mother is often left to bond, learn to breastfeed, eat well, and sleep without support. And to do so while healing, learning her new body, returning to work, and doing many other overwhelming responsibilities.
Because women don’t get the support they need, hormones become unbalanced and remain so for long periods of time, often extending years after the birth of baby, and impacting menopause decades later.
3. Sleep Is More Important Than You Think
Postpartum marks a time of little sleep for most mothers. but its importance in healing and balancing hormones is substantial. When you sleep, your body assesses your hormone state, cleans things up a bit, and makes more of the hormones you need. Make sleep your absolute number one priority and do what you need to get the most sleep possible.
Pro Tip: Assess how many hours of sleep you need per night and the time you spent awake at night. Use those numbers to formulate a plan to maximize your sleep. Consider getting your partner’s help with sleep or other responsibilities that may keep you awake.
Chiropractic care is also an amazing tool to support your baby in sleeping longer and deeper in a way that’s developmentally appropriate. Remember, it’s not about how many hours you can squeeze in without breastfeeding or waking. It’s how many hours of sleep total in a 24-hour period of time.
4. Nutritional Deficiency Is the Leading Cause of Imbalance:
Specific nutrients are necessary for the production of hormones. if you don’t have the nutrients your body needs (which most postpartum women don’t), your hormones will suffer. Not to mention that most of what we know about eating in postpartum is counterintuitive to everything we are being taught about right now.
Things like salads and smoothies are actually harmful.
In postpartum, it isn’t just about quality as it is about its ability to be absorbed into your body.
5. Imbalances Impact More Than Your Mood
Hormones influence sleep, acne levels, digestion, weight, vaginal health, breastfeeding, night sweats, libido, brain function, your immune system, menstrual cycles, how you bond with your baby, and even how you connect with your partner, children, and the world around you.
If your hormones are out of balance, you may only feel a few of these symptoms, or you may have all of them to some degree. The great news about this is that if you address the sources of the hormone imbalance, you address multiple symptoms at once.
6. Stress Is a Major Factor in Hormone Imbalance
The overproduction of stress hormones can take control and negatively affect other hormones. Unfortunately, our society is so stressed that most don’t really understand what relaxed truly means. It’s impossible to feel good all the time, but it’s important to make changes to accommodate a lifestyle that feels better more often.
If life feels stressful, step back, and determine a few things that could make it easier.
7. Many Remedies Can Make It Worse
Using medicinals to correct imbalances, including natural ones such as herbs, can make the imbalance worse. Before you invest in these, you need to find out why you have the imbalance, and then treat it accordingly.
And it’s always important to know that things like CBD oil, essential oils, and others are great tools to support you in feeling better, but they do not address the underlying issue.
But remember that it’s a process that requires time and patience.
However, the rewards for you and your family of improved well-being, reduced symptoms, and enhanced quality of life make the effort worthwhile.
Embrace these seven secrets to balance your hormones and embark on a path toward optimal health.
