Here are some key things I discuss with my clients to help make sure they have a happy, healthy postpartum:

• Keep your (naked) baby at your (naked) breast as much as possible. Your baby NEEDS to be skin-to-skin, even when dad is taking a turn. This will help your milk supply and ensure your baby gets exactly what he needs.
• Realize that nursing is more than a full-time job. Ask for support if you need it.
• Realize that nursing can take time for mom and/or baby to learn. Don’t give up and ask for help if you need it.
• Find a pediatrician or other doctor for your baby prior to birth. Consider seeing and enlisting the help of this professional with your newborn needs after birth. As midwives, we are limited in our newborncare.
• Find a chiropractor and/or massage therapist that will see your baby after birth. Even babies that experience normal, gentle births will benefit.
• Most babies have a smooth transition and are normal and healthy. However, your intuition as a mom (and as parents) can be most helpful. Practice tuning in now to your baby and his needs, and recognize that at birth (and beyond) you are just what your baby needs.
• Hold your baby. Hold your baby! Guests and family and visitors can wait. Staying naked in bed, and/or planning a lotus birth can make this easier.
• In case it hasn’t been said enough, nurse your baby. All babies want to do is nurse, and if this is not the case (at least very early on), it may be a clue that something is “off.”
• You will be postpartum for the rest of your life! Enjoy this special time and bond with your baby. It is a sacred time that is not to be missed.

Related Articles:

1. “Permission” to Be Postpartum
2. Postpartum: After the Baby’s Birth
3. Breastfeeding Tips