The Importance of A Mother’s Recovery in the Early Postpartum Period: And Why a Postpartum Home Visit is Just the Thing
If you’ve just delivered a baby and you’re thinking to yourself:
“Do I really need a therapist to evaluate me?”
“I’m feeling fine”
“I think all of this is normal”
“This is just how it goes”
“It’s suppose to be hard”
“I’ll wait and it’ll get better”
I hear this so often from my postpartum clients. Typically, they have just delivered their baby only a few weeks ago and they seem to be fine. However, with further discussion they realize they do have some things going on. Maybe they do in fact leak a little urine with sneezing, or the hip pain that started in pregnancy is still there, or maybe they have a diastasis recti (a separation of the abdominal musculature- common with pregnancy) that they notice when they go to sit up. Or perhaps their neck and back are bothering them and they can’t quite pinpoint why (ergonomics while feeding!). All of these “normal” symptoms can be addressed quickly to promote maternal wellbeing.
We’ve normalized how the postpartum period should go for women, but every woman’s experience is different. We know other women who have been able to do it and they seemed “fine”. Perhaps our own mothers did all the things that we think we have to do. Like recovering from c-section or a difficult delivery, caring for older children, preparing and serving meals to the whole family, caring for their newborn, and for some returning to work at six weeks.
I’m here to tell you this is not how it is supposed to be. Women are meant to be cared for in the postpartum period just as we care for the newborn. We often hear how other cultures care for their mothers following delivery. Such practices include rest, meals prepared by others and brought to the mother, massage, abdominal binding, special teas/soups, and seclusion from “doing” for the first 4-6 weeks- just to name a few. These practices are not the norm in American culture. The norm here in America is for mom to deliver a baby and return to their provider at six weeks to be assessed for post-partum complications, cleared for return to exercise, intercourse, and increased activity. From there it is a return to “normal” life, back to all the things she used to do. Our culture does not take into consideration the needs of the mother. It does not consider the physical and non-physical changes the mother has undergone throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and now caring for a newborn. Often, once the baby has been born the focus shifts to the baby. Mothers often then put their needs last and don’t think that they need to help with recovery. They may not even know what is normal (bladder, bowel, pain, function or pelvic health) when it comes to healing from childbirth.
At Jade Integrated Health, we have been solving this problem by offering postpartum home visits to women following childbirth. These visits are intended to bridge this gap in perinatal care. It is a service that provides space for women to receive early care that they need in order to recover from pregnancy and childbirth (regardless of how they birthed or how they are currently experiencing the postpartum period).
During a postpartum home visit an occupational or physical therapist comes to your home to provide an hour long session to address any concerns, provide education on caring for one’s self, and provide resources to aid in your recovery. Topics may cover: ergonomics while feeding/changing/carrying baby, safe return to exercise through an individualized exercise plan, core and pelvic floor recovery, and education on how to care for perineal or abdominal scar tissue following vaginal or c-section delivery. The therapist may also assess and provide education and resources on pain, diastasis recti, bladder and bowel function, in addition to mental health.
In summary, taking time to heal after childbirth is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Regardless of how you delivered your baby and whether you feel your symptoms are “normal”, it’s beneficial to have a trained therapist assess and rule out any issues that can be addressed quickly. Our therapists will also communicate with your OB, midwife or home birth midwife to ensure the best continuity of care. A postpartum home visit is the first step in the journey in addressing recovery from childbirth and it will set you up for future health.