This is such an important subject that I have decided to try and break it up into the areas of Physical and Emotional/Psychological Wellbeing.

Most women don’t really plan for the six to eight weeks following birth. We are generally consumed with our newly born child (our bodies our wired to act this way) but this time is when most women go through enormous physical, emotional and psychological changes that are not really respected by Western culture.

As soon as the placenta is expelled a woman in medical terms has technically started her recovery period which should take approximately six weeks. In medical terms, this period called the puerperium (’the period belonging to the child’) is when the reproductive organs return to their former prepregnant state.

Our bodies are going through immense changes and for me that period was a blur. I remember telling my best friend I felt really overwhelmed and later when she had her own emergency delivery and serious complications with her new son, she doubted her ability to be a mother. Such are the ebbs and flows of post pregnancy. On day twelve, I had not stopped crying every day at least once for a week. I remember crying to my mother about the injustices of the world and why had I brought such a perfect specimen to the planet. I also remember crying about how wonderfully small and delicate my daughter was and how I didn’t want her to get any bigger! On day 12 a friend called through to check up me (it’s important those little chats friends, don’t think your sensitivity and strength isn’t valued by a new mother) and I told her about my persistant crying…. "don’t worry, by day 13 it will go…." I was lucky, it did go, and for 80% of women that is usually the case but approximately 10-15% will go on to experience some form of mood disorder ranging from extreme depression to anxiety disorders such as panic attacks.

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February 1st, 2006 | Permalink