Preparing for Your Postpartum Journey | Sprout and Blossom Birth
Written by Shay Gabriel
Throughout pregnancy, it’s easy to get caught up in preparations for labor and birth. But you won’t want to overlook the importance of the postpartum period! Yes, friendly offerings of meals or help around the house might be an absolute dream in that fourth trimester, but there are some other things you’ll want to plan ahead. We promise you’ll be so thankful you did!
Choose a quality birth team. Fostering an empowered prenatal experience is the best way to segue into a positive postpartum experience! A birthing person’s postpartum phase, or “fourth trimester,” is heavily impacted by their experience throughout pregnancy, labor, and birth. Choosing a quality birth team who practices informed consent and holistic, birthing-person-centered care will set you up for a smoother birth experience and easier transition into the fourth trimester.
Ask your provider what sort of postpartum support they offer. The midwifery model of care typically includes multiple postpartum visits, including both in-home and office visits. The medical model of care typically offers one postpartum office visit 6 weeks after birth. It’s important to note that even the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) acknowledges the need for a shift in this model of postpartum care. You can read more about that here.
The care of a doula makes a difference in a birthing person’s experience. As part of our birth services, Sprout and Blossom includes a postpartum visit. Read more here about what our postpartum visit entails. Postpartum doulas are also an option for additional fourth trimester care—here are our local favorites.
Tap into lactation support. If you plan to breastfeed, we cannot emphasize enough the power of community support. Even if nursing seems to come easily to you and your newborn at first, there are an array of potential experiences that are most easily navigated alongside a village. (For example, and I’m speaking from experience here—your baby might kick you in the boob so hard it leads to a blocked duct. And that’s something you’ll want to attend to quickly!) During pregnancy, take a breastfeeding course (best taught by a lactation consultant or counselor). Also be sure to check whether lactation support is part of your postpartum plan of care with your provider. Finally, we recommend connecting with your local La Leche League and joining their Facebook group before you give birth. (Thanks to my local LLL group for saving my kicked boob!)
If you will lactate but do not plan to breastfeed, share this with your provider and ensure you are equipped with tools and strategies for effectively managing lactation. Unfortunately, some providers will overlook your need for lactation support if you do not plan to breastfeed. Advocate for yourself so that you’ll have a comfortable experience diminishing any milk supply.
Plan safe & comfortable sleeping arrangements. Postpartum sleeping arrangements are often overlooked. Many parents simply purchase a crib and bassinet and call it good! Consider the evidence around safe and normal infant sleep and begin discussing your thoughts around both. Your feelings around sleeping arrangements may change once baby arrives, but to begin the conversation beforehand will expose you to new and important information in advance. And, you’ll be less likely to be caught off guard in terms of what’s developmentally normal, which will benefit everyone involved!
Also consider how to make your nighttime experience as comfortable as possible. Will you be night nursing? Bottle feeding? Play out these scenarios in your mind, glean tips from others, and plan practical arrangements accordingly. For example, if you plan to bedshare and side-lie feed, you might prepare a collection of necessities on your nightstand (e.g. a water bottle, nipple butter, handheld snacks, breast pads, burp cloths...).
Want to learn more? Read our recent blog post on bedsharing.
Foster healthy household relationships. Parenting a new baby comes along with many new (and wonderful!) responsibilities, and all of the members of your household will be impacted by those changes. Consider age-appropriate ways to prepare any existing children for baby’s arrival, as well as how you might foster your relationship with each child after baby’s arrival. Preparing for new sibling dynamics and changes in parent-child dyads in advance will foster a smoother transition for your growing family. Here’s an article with many helpful tips! And here’s a great podcast episode covering changing dynamics between couples in the postpartum phase.
Plan to process your birth experience with at least one person who attends -- and consider documenting the birth! Each and every birth is a unique life-changing event. To be able to process that event with someone who witnessed it firsthand is an incredible opportunity! (After my own first birth, my husband and I both found ourselves replaying the whole thing with each person on our birth team who visited us postpartum. It was nice to share our birth story with friends and family, but as with other epic life events, the ability to relive the experience with people who were there was invaluable. We had a few long days of events to process, and we worked through so much alongside our birth team!) Your birth team might even provide you with a written timeline—find out in advance.
Labor land is a blurry place, and bringing some clarity to what took place is a form of healing in the fourth trimester! Documenting the birth experience through photography or videography can help you preserve and process your birth experience. Check out our birth documentation services.
Seek out peer support. Journeying alongside others who can relate to your pregnancy, birth, or postpartum experience offers long-term benefits! Many birthing persons join local postpartum support groups with specific focuses, such as unplanned cesarean or postpartum depression. There are several specific groups online as well -- you can run a search to find one that suits you. (The covid pandemic threw a wrench in my peer group plans. Instead, I found community through like-minded parenting groups on Facebook and Instagram, where I’ve also formed friendships with individuals on similar journeys!)
Anticipate your physical healing & prepare products. Whether you receive care through the midwifery model or medical model, your provider should check in on several elements of postpartum physical wellbeing (e.g. lochia, pelvic floor healing, etc.). Discuss postpartum healing with your provider before birth so you can prepare accordingly. Ask what products they’ll have on hand for you and find out what you might be responsible for providing. Gather what you can in advance so you have less on your plate once baby arrives!
Check out our blogpost on Our Favorite Postpartum Products—its full of recommendations for the things we found most useful when we had our babies.
Also, make sure to visit the Sprout and Blossom Botanicals Shop. It’s full of consciously-crafted self-care products and gifts.
your postpartum journey matters
Shay Gabriel is the content director for Sprout and Blossom whose love of parenthood and psychology has merged into a super-obsession with all things birthy and baby. She believes an informed experience lends to an empowered experience, no matter where you are along the journey.