Social media promotes and popularize a quick ‘bouncing back’ into life after having a baby. However, as a midwife I’ve seen the wonderful and far-reaching benefits of slowing down after your birth for a few weeks of physical and emotion restoration. The postpartum window is a precious and critical time for mother and baby to recover and settle in. And it helps the entire family to adapt to your new little family member too. Here are eight starting points that help protect you during your postpartum period…..

Midwives, apprentices and doulas are uniquely positioned to have an extraordinary affect on the postpartum period of families, and therefore on the family’s entire parenting experience. When we educate mothers and their families about the exquisite importance of a healthy and protected postpartum and how to have realistic expectations, our impact will echo deeply in women’s lives forever beyond the actual birth.