Be Kind to Yourself: Postpartum Self-Care

For many moms, particularly – new moms, mom guilt is a common phenomenon. Mom guilt is a feeling of guilty, doubt, anxiousness or uncertainty experienced by moms who worry they are failing in some ways. If you tend to ask yourself “Am I doing this right?” quite often, you might suffer from mom guilt. There are a lot of expectations from society like what moms “should be like” and what “should we do”. As a new mom, it is important to recognise that every mom is different and unique in their experience. There is no “better  mom” to compare ourselves to. 

The changing of roles and responsibilities might cause anxiety and uncertainty to moms. Being a new mom, we need to spend more time and energy on ourselves during this transition period to avoid postpartum depression and anxiety. Providing some tips to all new moms for postpartum self-care.

Tips 1: Start a Journal

It can be a short journal like one line journal to express your feelings and emotions. During the postpartum period, moms tend to feel out of control oftenly and lead to anxiety. Writing down your feelings and emotions is a simple and easy way for emotional release. If you feel frustrated, write it down. Throughout the writing process, you will realise your current emotional state and it is a good way to clear your mind with all those negative thoughts. 

Tips 2: Eat Healthy

Moms will lose a lot of energy and strength when giving birth. After giving birth, moms are advised to eat balanced and nutritious meals. This will help moms in body recovery from labor. At the same time, balanced and nutritious food helps in producing more breast milk especially with more fluid intake. Other than that, good food creates a good mood. When you eat well, you will feel better because you are doing something good to yourself and your baby. 

Tip 3: Allow Yourself to Feel Your Feelings

This is very important for every mom. You need to recognise your emotions and feelings. Do not feel guilty being frustrated or sad. It is very common when handling new roles and responsibilities. Talk to someone such as your friends, families or your partner. Let them know your thoughts and feelings. If you bottle up your feelings, they will never be able to help. Talk to someone you trust. They will give you support and advice.

Tip 4: Ask for Help

Remember you are not alone during the parenthood journey. You should ask for help and delegate tasks to your partner or families. Let them help with little stuff like feeding, changing diapers and bathing. It might be too exhausting for you to handle everything alone especially after giving birth. I believe your families are more than willing to help. All you need to do is ask for help and find time for yourself to rest for recovery.

Tip 5: Give Yourself a Break

Talking about finding time for yourself, you should give yourself a break! Spare some ‘me-time’ for yourself to emotionally and mentaly prepare for the change in roles and responsibilities. Allow yourself to take a break. You can choose to pamper yourself with postnatal massage. With one hour postnatal massage, you can relax and be with yourself for a while. Postnatal massage not only helps with getting back into pre-pregnancy shape but it also involves uterus care. You should also take good care of yourself while welcoming your little one.