You knew that being a mommy would be the most beautiful experience of your life. And you also knew that it would be among the most challenging. But now your little bundle of joy has arrived. And you’ve learned that you were right: You have discovered a love you never could have imagined. You have felt joy you thought might crush you with its weight.
But as magical as this time may be, it is also hard far harder at times than you could ever have anticipated. Nurturing and caring for this precious little life is a responsibility you could not have understood until you experienced it. And that can be a tremendous stressor on your physical and mental health.
Physical Health Impacts
No question about it: pregnancy takes its toll on your body. From the physical burdens of carrying your little one inside you for the better part of a year to the rigors of delivery, it’s a lot.
And it doesn’t end there, because after the blessed event occurs, you’re faced with a host of bodily changes and challenges. The effects of childbirth often include everything from pelvic floor dysfunction and postpartum anemia to the dreaded postpartum hormonal roller coaster, as your pregnancy hormones plummet and your body attempts to regulate itself.
Your body needs healing. But caring for a newborn can make that feel next to impossible. In fact, tending to your baby’s needs can make it very easy to neglect your own. You’re almost certainly sleep-deprived, and you’re likely snatching meals and snacks wherever and whenever you can get them. There’s hardly enough time or energy left in the day to plan nutritious meals, let alone to prepare them.
However, it’s precisely in times such as this, when your body is under the greatest stress, that self-care is most important. And, no, seeing to your own needs does not mean sacrificing your baby’s care. It does not make you selfish. It makes you wise, and it prepares you to be the best possible caretaker for your child for years and decades to come. Physical wellness is one of the most important dimensions of wellness, and improving your physical wellness can often involve bonding with your baby. Setting routines is good for both you and your baby. When you establish a bedtime routine for Baby, create a new one for yourself.
Another important thing you can do to mitigate physical health stressors as a new mom is to maintain close contact with your healthcare team. Communicate any signs or symptoms early and often.
This also means learning to recognize those signs of an emerging health issue before they can evolve into a real threat. For example, heartburn is common during pregnancy. However, if it persists or if you begin to experience other lesser-known symptoms, such as chronic cough or asthma symptoms, sore ears and throat, or difficulty swallowing, this may be a sign of a more serious disorder, such as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Left untreated, GERD can lead to potentially life-threatening complications, including internal bleeding and even cancer.
Another important step you can take to protect your health post pregnancy is to ensure that you are keeping hydrated and eating nutritiously. Your body needs these resources not only to cope with the lifestyle changes and tremendous physical and mental demands of caring for an infant but also to replenish itself. After all, for the last 9-10 months, your body has not been sustaining just one life but two (or more!). And if you are breastfeeding, those resource demands only continue.
As an added benefit, when you do take the time to hydrate, eat well, and get adequate sleep, you will find yourself not only feeling better but also looking better. Indeed, practicing self-care in this way is key to combating the signs of early aging, enabling you to feel healthy, young, and vibrant for years to come.
Mental Health Stressors
When you’re a new mom, it’s not only your body that is under stress, but also your mind and spirit as well. To be sure, being a new parent has its moments of bliss. The moment you first laid eyes on your baby, heard her cry, or held him in your arms may well have been one of the most transcendent moments of your life.
But bringing Baby home is almost certainly not what you expected. Between sleep deprivation, hormonal shifts, and the often relentless worry and responsibility of mothering, you are bound to be experiencing a wide array of emotions not all of them positive. It’s important to allow yourself to feel what you feel, to recognize that mixed emotions and bad times are perfectly normal and valid.
That by no means makes you a bad mother. What it does mean is that you are human, and you, toon, need and deserve care, understanding, and support. This is especially true if the emotional and mental health challenges you may be facing as a new mother become debilitating. Postpartum Depression (PDD) is a common but eminently treatable condition, whether through counseling, medication, or a combination of approaches.
The Takeaway
Being a mother is the greatest but also the most difficult job you will ever have. Caring for a new baby takes its toll on your physical as well as your emotional health. However, practicing self-care, taking the time to nurture your body, mind, and spirit, will enable you to enjoy this precious time in your baby’s life to the fullest.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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