Building a Postpartum Support Team & Roadmap to Recovery — Episode #062

Recovering After a Big Event

The sad and scary truth is that postpartum care in the U.S. is abysmal. In other countries, new mothers are provided with four to eight physical therapy sessions and their healing is monitored. In the States, however, we get a single 20-minute appointment at the six-week mark. Period. So, what can you do during pregnancy to prepare for the first weeks and months after you’ve given birth? How can you build your own support team to get through the challenging period of brand spanking new motherhood? What might a roadmap to recovery look like?

Today, I’m sharing my experience of the big event that is childbirth and what transpired in the months following. I walk you through the steps I took to build a network of support that helped me figure out breastfeeding, kept me nourished, and answered questions as they came up. Listen in for insight around the benefit of looking at postpartum recovery in three-month intervals and learn to adjust your expectations and plan ahead for the first 12 months of new motherhood.

The Startup Pregnant Podcast Episode #062

Some quotes from the episode

• “You’re not going to have that much time to read parenting books once the kiddo is here, so read ahead. You have nine months to be pregnant, and you’re going to be a parent for the rest of your life.”
• “Once the baby and the woman separate, and they become two different beings, it’s like a switch gets flipped. The baby gets a ton of attention and … the mother just floats away into space for a while with no follow-ups and no checkups.”
• “I never really understood that breastfeeding was something that took six to nine hours of time—every day.”
• “Having three or four adults to one newborn? It feels like you tip into the edge of sanity.”
• “Daycare became our village.”
• “Whether you use a nanny or an au pair or in-laws or family members … being able to get help can make all the difference.”
• “The hunger of a breastfeeding mother is unparalleled.”
• “I wasn’t ready to have sex until six months or so postpartum. Things were just too turned around. For me, I felt like things had turned inside out.”
• “By the time I got to 12 months, I finally felt like I was in the body that I remembered.”
• “Give yourself the space to learn. The idea that we only have 12 weeks postpartum to figure absolutely everything out, to recover and heal, to be perfect at breastfeeding, and to be ready to go back to work is actually ludicrous.”
• “It will get easier and you will feel better. You will feel like yourself again. You will be able to recover. There will be a lot of freedom and opportunity for you. You will settle into patterns that work.”
• “Motherhood is harder than being pregnant.”
• “Nothing works without sleep.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• NPR Social Series: Maternal Mortality in the US
• La Leche League USA
• Shefali Christopher on Startup Pregnant EP061
• Lily Nichols on Startup Pregnant EP059
• Preparing for the First 30 Days Postpartum: What to Buy, Research, and Say
• Preparing for the First 30 Days Postpartum After a C-Section
• Replens
• Danielle LaPorte on Startup Pregnant EP034
• The Startup Pregnant Mastermind

EPISODE SPONSOR & SPECIAL OFFER

Thank you to the sponsor of this episode: Aeroflow Breastpumps. They are dedicated to making the hassle of getting your breast pump a little bit easier—actually, a lot easier! Head to www.aeroflowbreastpumps.com/startup to have them help you qualify for a free breast pump through insurance.

All of our sponsor offers are available on our website for you to grab the perks and discounts offered to podcast listeners: https://startupparent.com/sponsors.

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