Postpartum Mood Disorders affect over 20% of moms. Surely that is more than one mom that you personally know. However, you might not know that she has struggled because the stigma remains high and the conversation is kept behind closed doors.
By being purposeful about communicating your postpartum experience to your partner, you can improve the postpartum relationship and be a team in postpartum recovery.
This is a time that is full of transformation for a woman and yet we so often hear “Oh, she’s just so emotional.” Or we even say it ourselves “Don’t mind me, I’m just emotional.” While there is some jest in the extremities we can experience, it doesn’t change the reality that these emotions are a biological response and are often telling us something important.
Women believe the first postpartum milestone is six weeks- the time you usually have a check-up with your provider and can be cleared to “get back” to activities. Here I sit at 6 months post-baby, and yet I still consider myself postpartum.
“Seeing your husband as a dad will make you fall more in love with him!” Yeah, I mean, that’s true, but you know what’s also true? Adding kids to the family makes you doubt yourself, your partner, your relationship and more.
Nobody told you what your body was going to look like or how you might feel about your body after giving birth. While it is ok to want to lose the baby weight eventually; resting, healing and bonding with baby should be top priorities.
