Image Credit: Preeclampsia.Org
As a mother, the postpartum period commences immediately after the delivery of your baby till when your body nearly returns to the condition it was before you became pregnant. On average, the period lasts between six to eight weeks.
During this post-delivery period, the mother and father of the child learn how to take care of the newborn and how to work together as a family. Also, the mother goes through a series of changes both physically and emotionally. A typical example of the physical adjustment the mother experiences is a reduction in her stomach size. The stomach-size increase makes nursing mothers seek the best and fastest way to a flat stomach after pregnancy. Her efforts are in line with the adjustments that accompany becoming a mother.
It is essential for you as a mother to take care of yourself during the post-partum stage to rebuild your strength. To achieve this, you need to rest well, feed well and get help.
Rest
As soon as the baby arrives, the sleep pattern of the mother changes because babies have different sleep patterns from adults. The average adult has about six to eight of hours sleep at night. A typical newborn, however, is awake about every two to three hours and require food, change of clothes and comfort during this time.
In light of these realities, here are some helpful suggestions to get you more rest;
- Get help in the first few weeks and be relieved of responsibilities other than taking care of yourself and feeding the baby
- When your baby is asleep, get some sleep for yourself
- Put your baby crib beside you; reach it quickly when you need to breastfeed it
- Feel free to excuse yourself from visitors to nap or feed your newborn
- Start exercising even if for only a few minutes daily. You could take walks
- Introduce feeding bottles to your baby after the first two to three weeks to offer you some relief
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Feeding
After the delivery of the baby, you need food for your body to heal and recover from the pregnancy and childbirth process. It is crucial that you take a healthy and balanced diet to promote proper healing and recovery. Also, the food you eat contributes to the production of breastmilk for your baby. Nutritionists and lactation experts recommend that nursing mothers eat whenever they are hungry.
Grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and proteins are essential during the post-partum period and physical activity cum exercise should be included in the daily routine. Along with balanced and healthy meals, mothers should increase their fluid intake. It is not uncommon for nursing mothers to find that they are regularly thirsty. Water, fruit juices and milk are excellent choices to meet the body-fluid needs. An effective way of going about this is to have them handy, probably beside your breastfeeding chair or bed.
A common desire of mothers is to lose weight as quickly as possible after delivery, and as a result, they engage in extreme dieting schemes and weight loss programs. Be advised that such action is hazardous to your health and that of your baby. The weight loss is a gradual process and can be enhanced by eating low-fat meals, fresh vegetables with fruits and exercising regularly.
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