Expert / 10 September, 2020 / Marie Louise The Modern Midwife

The Modern Midwife On Understanding The Postnatal Period

It is very common for pregnant women to focus so much on pregnancy and birth that sometimes postnatal planning can often be left to the very last minute, sometimes even until after birth! The online postnatal course by The Modern Midwife is all about your recovery – both physical and emotional with an emphasis on your baby but also very much so on you.

In the postnatal series I run through key things that will help you to plan for the first three months with your baby, which is commonly known as the fourth trimester. While birth is a huge event, the much bigger event is having your baby in your arms along with the responsibility to care for them, as well as yourself, which isn’t necessarily always easy.

If you’d like to sign up to The Modern Midwife’s online antenatal classes, you can enjoy 15% off with code MYBABA15.  

The fourth trimester

During the 4^th trimester, your baby is very much an extension of your own body and still needs you for absolutely everything – food, sleep and comfort being the obvious ones, but you will also need support and care.

I run through how to care for your newborn but also spend quite some time talking about your own physical and emotional recovery. Your body has gone through a huge transformation and understanding what happens to your body after birth and during the recovery period will really help you to care for yourself and aid your healing.

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Your emotional state

The hormonal change also has a large effect on your emotional state and it is so important to be prepared for it. As a new Mum myself, even with all the training that midwifery has to offer, I still cried during the first week and felt low at times.

Knowing why I felt low, helped me, and I already had the support built-in, because I had planned for it. Of course, it’s not as straightforward as feeling low on day 7 and feeling better on day 11 as every woman’s hormonal composition and support system is completely unique but understanding your body and your mind, knowing where how and when to seek support in the fourth trimester makes a big difference.

Feeding your baby

Feeding is a huge, rather loaded topic so I spend a whole hour talking about both bottle and breastfeeding your baby. I make sure to focus on the physical and emotional sides of most topics that I talk about because these are often so interlinked.

I am honoured to have some incredible women talking about their respective areas of expertise – Dr Rebecca Moore gives some information and advice about birth trauma, Robyn Tennison talks about fitness and Sarah Patel will be giving you some brilliant tips about babies sleeping habits in the fourth trimester.

Overall this series is all about making sure that you understand the forth trimester and that feeling tired and often overwhelmed is entirely normal but with the right information, knowledge, advice and support – you will feel prepared.

Yes, you will witness some interesting newborn behaviour, sleepless nights, and probably quite a few ups and downs but mainly I just want you to be ready so that the only thing you need to focus on as the birth gets closer, is getting excited for that amazing feeling of being someone’s mum. And being there myself right this moment, I can tell you that there is nothing quite like it. Nothing in the whole wide world!

Episodes include:

• The first 24 hours
• Your physical recovery
• Feeding your baby
• Protecting your postnatal self

and many more…

For more information about the courses click here and if you have any questions about the antenatal and postnatal course don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail on maternitycourses@gmail.com.

Love Marie x
The Modern Midwife

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