Blog Post 47: Postpartum Care
The importance of intense self-care after giving birth cannot be overstated. I (Anna) am the poster child for what can go wrong if one keeps plowing forward as I did after my second pregnancy, discussed in our previous blog post here. If any of our readers are expecting or planning for a baby at some point, this article is a great resource on the physical changes that accompany pregnancy and childbirth.
Kore and I know so many women who struggle with not thinking enough about themselves following childbirth and not giving their bodies the time to fully recover before diving back into helping so many others in their lives. Type C women are at greater risk of neglecting ourselves postpartum; our excessively conscientious nature can lead us to put all our focus on the baby and other people in our lives. My own pelvic floor issues were a direct result of overdoing it after childbirth and not letting my body heal effectively. The Type C woman carries the weight of the world on her shoulders which metaphorically (and physically!) can weigh down the pelvic floor! In my case, I was on automatic pilot, driven by the guilt of leaving my colleagues in the lurch - and was betraying my own values which were taking care of myself and my family at the time. I was in short-term survival mode driven by my own fear of disappointing my colleagues.
Compounding this is the cultural expectation and celebration of a quick “bounceback” from pregnancy in the U.S. Women should take plenty of time to recuperate. I worked with a Chinese partner during my first pregnancy - and she was aghast that I was out and about quickly after giving birth. In her culture, women and their newborns do not leave the house for the first 30 days after childbirth. Sounds both heavenly and appropriate!
(Kore chiming in here) - I’ve worked with a lot of women who have struggled with postpartum care. Type C women can feel very guilty that they are not getting as much done as before and that they are not doing as much for others. We have to sit with this guilt about upsetting someone else and recognize the longer-term cost to our bodies if we overdo it. We also have to work on assertiveness and asking for help even though we worry it might burden someone else. To a spouse, this might look like “I need you to make dinner a few times a week,” or “can you take over laundry duty?”. For Type C people - who tend to ignore their own needs - it’s critical to listen to your body and not discount any aches, pains, or mental blues; take them seriously and discuss them with your doctor.