While creating a birth plan is important, less typical but just as crucial, is creating a postpartum plan
Modern society has forgotten that a woman who’s postpartum is just as vulnerable after the baby is born as she is during labor. Often exhausted from the birth, instead of resting, she’s tasked with caring for a newborn who needs her for absolutely everything.
Creating a postpartum plan enables a mother to think through in advance what will help her, bring her comfort, and calm her. It allows her to plan how to get the support she’ll need so she can feel as good as possible afterward.
When creating a postpartum plan, the first starting point is to have a plan of action for the technicalities. Who’s going to take responsibility for her family’s physical needs while she recuperates? Who will pick up the other children from school those first few days (or weeks)? What will we do for suppers in that initial period?
Other technical but emotionally charged questions might be: Do I want visitors in the hospital? Who am I comfortable with holding my baby? Do I have a pediatrician to go to?
Create a free account to keep reading.
