Being a new mum involves embarking on a new journey that centres around the new-born. It can be common for new mums to find it difficult to maintain a level of self-care once the baby arrives, however it is crucial that this is incorporated into the newfound routine and changes that are made to the mum’s life. Looking after oneself in the postpartum period has a huge range of benefits, including improved physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing.
In this blog post we will explore what self-care measures new mums can incorporate into their busy day and how these can have a positive impact on wellbeing.
Self-Care Methods
Getting Good Quality Sleep
Sleep is often the biggest change that is noticed by new mums. As the baby establishes their sleep schedule and wakes regularly for feeds, it can be difficult to get enough sleep. This in turn, can make other tasks during the day feel harder to complete as well as leading to irritability and low mood. Napping when the baby naps or asking your partner or a family member to take over care for the baby while you get some sleep can be useful methods of recharging.
These Sleep Patches contain ingredients that work in harmony to encourage relaxation and tranquillity by promoting a sense of calm and aiming to help ease the transition into a restful state. Topical patches are often used by individuals who are looking for easy and discreet ways of supporting their overall wellbeing, due to their hassle-free method of application and continuous support throughout the day, without the need for pills or powders. If you are breastfeeding or have other health concerns, speak to your healthcare professional about the best option for you.
Exercise
After the initial birthing period and once cleared by a medical professional, adding exercise into your routine as a new mum can be a great form of self care. This does not need to be rigorous, strenuous workouts, but more so activities such as going for a walk, a light jog or doing yoga. Getting your body moving can help improve mood, improve cardiorespiratory fitness and promote healthy weight management.
Eating Healthy
Fuelling your body with nutrient-filled, whole foods can be a great form of self care, especially for new mums. Ensuring you are eating regular, healthy balanced meals can aid in reducing the risk of vitamin deficiencies that are common in pregnancy and the postpartum period. Using techniques such as meal prepping and batch cooking can be used as time efficient methods of maintaining a good diet.
Making Time For Hobbies
It can be easy to forget about hobbies that you might have enjoyed doing to wind down once the baby arrives. However, this is a key component in maintaining self-care and can serve as a great way to refocus, de-stress and relax. Taking opportunities as they come up in the day, or scheduling the baby’s care to be taken over by your partner or a family member can help give you time to undertake your hobbies again. This could be reading a couple of chapters of a new book, doing some artwork, or going for a walk outside.
Maintaining Personal Care
Sometimes having a shower, putting on clean clothes and brushing your hair can make a world of difference in how you feel, especially as a new mum. It can give you a sense of confidence and purpose that can allow you to feel more equipped to deal with the day ahead. Maintaining personal care is a great way to relax, unwind and feel good. This can be things you can do at home or getting out of the house to visit the salon for a haircut or a pedicure.
Maintaining A Social Life
Scheduling time to catch up with friends and family is a great way to indulge in self-care. This could be meeting up for a walk, a coffee or to run some errands. Forming friendships with other new mums can also help you feel connected with others that are going through the same life-altering journey. It may be worthwhile seeing what groups are available in your local community and seeing whether you can attend.
Why Is Self-Care Important For A New Mum?
Improved Mental Health
A huge benefit of ensuring you make time for self-care is the difference it can make to your mental health. We know that having a baby can bring many challenges and often women feel like their well-being takes a back seat. While the health of the baby is important, looking after yourself is essential too. Doing any of the self-care methods above may help you relax, de-stress and take some time to re-centre yourself, so that you can feel your best. Regular self-care may also reduce the risk of post-partum depression, and help you form healthy habits.
Improved Physical Health
Regularly making time for self-care methods such as exercising and eating well aids towards improving physical health as well as mental health. Exercise and a balanced diet is linked with better cardiorespiratory health, better hair and nails, and maintaining a healthy weight.
Improved Bonding With Baby
By making sure you are recharged and feel well physically and mentally, you may be more equipped to handle the challenges of a new-born, allowing you to also enjoy the bonding moments and milestones that come along with this.
Maintaining Sense of Self
It can be normal to feel like after having a new-born, the mum feels as though she has lost a sense of who she is. This particularly may be the case if there is little to no time for self-care for the mum. Ensuring that your routine has some methods of self-care, tailored to your preferences, may help alleviate these feelings and strengthen your newfound role as a mum.
Conclusion
Self-care for new mums is a very important component of the postpartum period and can include a range of methods, such as exercising, eating well, socialising and getting good quality sleep. These methods all have their own individual benefits which lends to support overall well-being for the new mum, both physically and mentally.