Postpartum “Common Sense” is Destroying Early Motherhood

What we know as “common sense” about postpartum is actually destroying your post-birth life.

Let’s take a look at the rates of postpartum depression for a second. 1 of every 7 women will get it. That’s not accounting for anxiety, OCD, and psychosis, rage, bipolar, or any other mental health disorder that develops after birth (I had 4 on this very list).

And let’s chat about postpartum autoimmune diseases. No one is talking about how women are at a 30% increased risk after having given birth. 1 in 7 women will develop a thyroid disease alone.

These numbers only account for those who’ve sought help and have been documented. They don’t account for the women who live with their pain in silence.

Can we finally admit that something is profoundly wrong with how women are experiencing postpartum??

To be clear, part of the reason these numbers are rising is because our society is recognizing that such a thing is a problem.

Studies about postpartum depression have only been going for the last 10-15 years (and we’ve only been giving birth since, you know, the dawn of time).

But the other significant part of this monumental problem is that our society has no idea how to support or care for a postpartum woman.

When we lack knowledge on how to care for this sacred transition to motherhood, it also means we completely fail to understand how the body functions after birth.

In this massive gap of zero knowledge about the postpartum body, other information has filled its place (because, quite frankly, we’re desperate for this). But most of this information is wrong, deceiving, and in many cases, downright harmful.

“Just had a baby. Time to get your body back!”
“Get back in your routine, you’ll feel better”.
“Better start exercising! It’ll help and you’ll lose all that baby weight”.
“Just eat lots of salads and smoothies so you can get more energy”.

And all of that is just plain WRONG.

You want to know the truth?

Your body was never taken away from you. However, it has changed in ways that may have you feeling as if you don’t recognize anything about yourself. Your body, your thoughts, the way you feel… even your cells are imprinted with that of your baby’s existence. Motherhood changes are profound and postpartum is about learning about yourself all over again. (The birth of a baby is also the birth of a mother).

You’ll never be able to just get back into your routine. Actually, you’ll burn yourself out trying to fit the demands of an infant/baby/toddler in your current lifestyle.

Your body isn’t ready for major exercise routines until at least 9 months postpartum. Gentle yoga isn’t recommended until 3-4 months postpartum. It can actually KILL your core and break the basic foundations of your physiological body.

(And let’s be really honest here. Carrying around your baby all day, walking, swaying, bouncing…. not to mention carrying car seats, diapers bags… you really are working out all day anyway.)

Your salads and smoothies are the very reason why so many moms are experiencing gut health issues like gas, bloating, IBS… and extends to hormone imbalances, exhaustion, yeast overgrowth, and even autoimmune diseases.

A postpartum body has very few enzymes necessary to break down your food. So when you eat, your food is left rotting in your gut causing long term health issues. Not to mention, its effects on breastfeeding.

These are all but small examples of misunderstandings I hear every single day as a Postpartum Bliss Coach.

When these things I’m sharing with you are corrected, your chances of postpartum depression and anxiety, as well as autoimmune diseases, drop TREMENDOUSLY.

And most women will never hear about these concepts until they’re a few years in and still struggling.

Almost all the women I’ve worked with in my personal one on one coaching have gotten off medication for postpartum depression, have “mysteriously” corrected a thyroid and/or hormone imbalance, and have gone on feeling better than they have before pregnancy.

The good news for you is, almost all of my clients are 2-4 years post-birth.

So although much of postpartum mental health issues and health problems can be completely prevented, it’s not too late to heal yourself deeply and repair from what you didn’t know.

If you’re reading this, chances are, you’ve had a baby in the last year or two, and maybe you aren’t feeling well or just plain crappy. Your gut health is off, you’re exhausted, and your hormones feel completely out of balance.

Your body is begging for your attention. And you need to know that there are ways to fix it quickly and without overwhelm.

And if you’re pregnant or have a brand new little one, do yourself a favor and don’t use “common sense” to prep for your postpartum.

It very well may save your life.