When you’re caring for a new baby, taking care of yourself after giving birth can fall to the bottom of your priority list very quickly.
However, as a new mom, it’s important that you take care of yourself to make sure you feel your best and aid your recovery.
There are many ways to take care of yourself after giving birth, some of which include:
- Sleeping as much as possible
- Eating nutritious foods that support your healing body
- Booked a postpartum massage
- Read a book
- Not afraid to ask for help when needed
1. Sleeping As Much As Possible
As a new parent, you already know that it’s not always easy to sleep after giving birth when you have a baby, especially with night feeds when your sleep is disturbed.
That said, when you do get a chance to catch those precious minutes of sleep, it’s important to take advantage of them any chance you get.
Sleep is important for you recovery postpartum, and therefore it should be considered a top priority.
This means if you can sleep during the day when the baby is sleeping, try to prioritize it over the household chores you are likely to be tempted to do during this time.
This is especially true in the first few weeks after giving birth, as your body needs all the rest it can get when uninterrupted sleep is limited.
2. Eating Nutritious Foods That Support Your Healing Body
Another way to take care of yourself after giving birth is to eat nutritious foods that support your healing body.
It’s worth noting that you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to achieve healthy meals, and the word “healthy” doesn’t automatically translate to “time-consuming”, despite what some might lead you to believe. recipes.
There are many no-prep recipes out there that are perfect for new parents and help you find quick and easy meals during this time-limited period of your life.
In addition to this, you should make sure that you get a cookbook with quick meals that can give you inspiration on those nights when you don’t have the energy to think of a recipe on your own.
3. Booking a Postpartum Massage
While a full spa day may not be high on your postpartum priority list, the benefits of booking a postpartum massage are huge.
Regardless of how your birth went, pregnancy and postpartum are physically and mentally demanding on your body, and postpartum massage can help a lot.
The benefits of treating yourself to a postpartum massage include: relaxation, stress reduction, as well as pain relief.
If you can make the time, booking a postpartum massage is the ultimate self-care activity to help your body recover after birth.
Massage is also known to help your mental health in a variety of ways, including promoting better sleep, so it’s worth checking out once you’ve given birth and are ready.
4. Book Reading
It may sound simple, but another way to take care of yourself after giving birth is to spend some time reading a book.
This stems from the fact that taking time for yourself to read a few pages of a book after giving birth can do wonders for your mental health.
In fact, reading’as little as 6 minutes a day can improve your sleep quality, reduce stress, and sharpen mental acuity‘.
Considering that fiction can remove you from your own reality and allow you to get lost in a fictional world, it’s easy to see why it can help you throughout your postpartum recovery.
While it may be difficult at first to make time to read, by incorporating a few minutes of reading into your daily schedule it will soon become part of your routine.
5. Not Afraid to Ask for Help When Needed
Last, but not least, not being afraid to ask for help will help you take care of yourself after giving birth.
The first few months of being a parent are both physically and emotionally exhausting and can be incredibly isolating.
It’s important to get support from friends and family because your body needs to heal after birth and physical support can help you recover. After all, there is a reason for the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.
While it’s not always easy to ask for help because mom guilt can kick in at first, getting the support you need is essential to taking care of yourself.
Jemima Thomas writes for Life as a Mom, on behalf of Fox Chiropracticchiropractic specialists based in Cardiff and Cwmbran.
Mother of children and cats. Find more of my work at CattitudeDaily.com.
