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In an ideal society, we wouldn't have to plan for the postpartum period because our parents, aunties, cousins, helpers would all be ready for us and know exactly how to support us during the entire postpartum period and beyond. Our babies would grow up, held by multiple caring adults and older children, and form healthy attachments to many, many people. They would toddle around a safe village with caring eyes on them all the time while the parents were able to take ample breaks, engage in regular exercise, meaningful work, and leisure.
Unfortunately, most of us are not raising kids in that type of environment. We live far away from family or are estranged from our family of origin, those who remain in our local support network have children of their own, or work full time or have other responsibilities. Our parents can't come to visit us for extended periods and even if they do, they may not know what type of support we need.
I have developed a free reflective guide to help you create a Postpartum Team meeting to get those who are near and far on the same page regarding your postpartum needs. So many of us create a birth plan but birth lasts a couple of days at most yet the postpartum period lasts for months and arguably, YEARS. In fact, everything that happens after the birth is postpartum in my opinion. So have you created a postpartum plan? Have you scheduled a meeting with loved ones, friends, providers to discuss the details of what you will need during the postpartum period? The postpartum period is a time when many parents feel isolated and overwhelmed. A solid postpartum plan and support team can help prevent that from happening.