Written by Eleanor Lambert
Women’s Health Physiotherapist, Certified Birth Doula, and student LC
Having a baby is an amazing thing. Celebrating this new life you’ve successfully brought into the world and admiring their little toes, and little nose, and the cute little fluffy hair on the nape of their neck.
It’s also a chaotic thing too. A whole bunch of changes to not only your life, and your sleep, but your body and hormones.
As a mother of two, here are the main things I wish someone had told me before my first postpartum experience.
Newborn babies can be the noisiest creatures on the planet
My daughter was a little pterodactyl, and my son was a snuffler. Laying in bed, hyper-vigilant to what noises they are making as a way of ensuring they’re okay, it is surprising to realise that noisy newborns are so normal. The good news is you will adjust over time.
Your brain starts to learn what noises it needs to pay attention to, and what noises should rouse you from sleep.
So if your child is a grunter or a whimperer or a snuffler - welcome to the family.
Night sweats - my goodness.
If you are wondering why you are waking up drenched in sweat despite it being the middle of winter or having the AC blasting? Blame your hormones.
The hormonal drop we experience after having our baby is the largest our body will experience second only to the changes we experience during puberty.
As our oestrogen and progesterone levels plummet, our body experiences massive fluctuations in body temperature - triggering night sweats.
If your partner sleeps soundly whilst your sleep is broken, you may want to bin them
As the primary parent, you are wired to hear your baby even if you are in the deepest of sleep. You are also hormonally supported to cope with the sleep deprivation once the sun has risen. Whilst your oxytocin and prolactin levels don’t directly supply you with energy they can indirectly influence energy levels by promoting overall well-being and reducing stress.
Your partner? Just surviving on caffeine and good vibes.
Hectic BO is a thing, it’s not just you.
And you know what I’m going to say, right? Yep, blame the hormones.
As well as that plummet causing ferocious night sweats, it can also change your body odour too.
But don’t worry! It is temporary, and will pass.
Dreading night time is driven by your hormones
In the months following my daughter’s birth I started to fear nighttime.
It would get to about 4pm and I would feel anxious and teary; dreading the broken night I was about to have and the sleep-deprivation that would follow me into the next day.
A good friend of mine shared with me that what I was feeling was quite normal, and all down to the chemicals in my brain.
As the evening approaches our melatonin levels rise. This increase acts to disinhibit the fear centres in our amygdala - essentially allowing our brain to go into hyperdrive and catastrophize. The worse the sleep deprivation and the greater the hormone flux, the worse the catastrophizing and feelings of being unable to cope, heightening those feelings of dread and anxiety.
However, when the sun comes up, and the melatonin falls, your brain (and your emotions) return to a sense of normal.
So when you are in the thick of your postpartum, in those early weeks of a hormonal roller coaster and broken sleep, be reassured that you are not broken, it’s actually a physiological process in your brain that will, with time, get better. And in the meantime, reach out if you ever need someone to talk to - Eleanor Lambert Doula.
Bounce-back culture is a rort.
Not only is it completely unhelpful to feel like you need to get “back in shape”, it’s also unrealistic and not supported by your body’s healing time-frames.
Research shows that following a c-section birth the abdominal fascia - which connects, stabilises, and houses the abdominal muscles - will regain only 51-59% of its pre-pregnancy strength by 6 weeks postpartum. By 6-7 months post c-section, only 73-93% of strength has returned. 1
Even if you birthed your baby vaginally, studies have shown that contractile function of the Transversus Abdominis (deep core muscle) is decreased for at least fourth months after birth. 2
And that’s not even getting into the healing time frames for your pelvic floor and vulval tissue.
So just because the woman on social media is “back at the gym” at 4 weeks postpartum and running the stairs at her local park, it doesn’t mean she should be and it doesn’t mean that her body is going to be happy about it either.
A slow return to activity is always a better idea, and a check in with a pelvic floor or women’s health physiotherapist is always best to ensure the information you are receiving is relevant to you.
For those located in and around the Newcastle, NSW area, the team at Female Focus Physiotherapy is here to help. And if you’re somewhere else in the world, we provide telehealth services too.
Breastfeeding isn’t Easy
Breastfeeding may be uncomplicated for some people, but it is never ‘easy’.
Neither you, nor your baby, have ever done it before. Even if this is your second or third child, you have never fed this baby before, and feeding takes effort from both of you.
Breastfeeding successfully involves both you AND your baby working together. You are a dyad. There is no “successful” feeding if one half of the team is a slacker, or keeps running into problems.
If you’re struggling with feeding, you aren’t alone. We have this weird approach that just because breastfeeding is “natural” means it must also be simple - but that’s so far from the truth.
Reaching out for support from an IBCLC is the best thing you can do to ensure that both you, and your baby, are set up for success. And just like hairdressers and cafes, if you don’t have a good experience with the first IBCLC you meet, have a chat with another.
Also, products like the Bubka wearable breast pump or silver nipple shields can support you through tricky patches while you find your rhythm.
1 Impaired Trunk Flexor Strength, Fatigability, and Steadiness in Postpartum Women. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018, August; 50(8).
2 Fukano, M., et al. Recovery of Abdominal Muscle Thickness and Contractile Function in Women after Childbirth. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(4), 2130. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042130
For more postpartum support, expert tips and products to make the newborn phase easier, explore the Bubka Blog or reach out to our team.