My Holistic Postpartum Recovery Plan
Pregnancy itself is one of the most physically demanding feats a woman can undergo, but a Hyperemesis pregnancy is something else entirely.
I had heard of Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy that is something different than morning sickness), but I never imagined I’d be one of the 2-3% of women who struggle with it. And I definitely never imagined that I’d be so sick for my entire pregnancy.
One day, when I can fully wrap my head around my experience this pregnancy, I’ll write a recap of it, but for now I’ll just say that besides all of the typical challenges of pregnancy and birth, these are some of the things I’ll need to heal from postpartum:
9 months of severe daily nausea and vomiting
9 months of being mostly bedridden
Severe muscle atrophy and loss of strength
Various lab abnormalities
Nutritional deficiencies
Extreme food aversions
High levels of stress and anxiety due to both HG and other major life circumstances
To put it simply, my body has been completely broken down by this pregnancy, but I’ve never been more motivated to come back stronger in my life.
My approach to postpartum isn’t to “bounce back,” because while I think that’s a toxic mindset for any new mom, it is impossible in my case to bounce back to where I was before I got pregnant. My body is in need of way too much healing and repair for that to even be a possibility.
However, I’ve done a lot of work and research to prepare myself for postpartum and today I’m sharing it with you!
While I plan to do another post a few months after baby girl arrives to let you know what worked, what didn’t, what I changed, etc., today I’m sharing what I’m doing to prepare for birth, products I anticipate using postpartum, and the healing tools I plan to incorporate.
My Postpartum Recovery Plan
Pre-Birth: What I’m Doing During Pregnancy to Support Postpartum
I personally believe that good postpartum care starts in pregnancy. While there are many other things I wish I could have done during my pregnancy (acupuncture, exercise, etc.), I believe we do what we can and we have to let that be enough.
Here’s what I’ve been doing while pregnant to prepare myself for both birth and postpartum…
Chiropractic Care: Around the time I hit my third trimester, I started experiencing severe back pain. It got to the point where one night I cried for about 6 straight hours because the pain was nothing like I’d ever experienced. Thankfully I had already had an initial appointment set up with a chiropractor a few days later who told me I had a rib out of place and a muscle tear. I’ve been going about twice a week ever since to keep that rib in place (it pops out in between sessions) and to do some specialized chiropractic care for pregnancy to help pelvic alignment, baby’s position, etc. I plan to continue this through birth and early postpartum as much as I can.
Stretching: One of the worst parts of having HG is that movement of any kind is a big trigger for my nausea. Despite my dreams and intentions of having a very fit pregnancy, HG stole that from me, and the most I’ve been able to manage is a handful of walks over the past 8 months and stretching/mobility work as much as I can. I’ve found various exercises I can do to keep my joints mobile and to keep my muscles from locking up.
Pelvic Floor Work: Although I had wanted to do more official pelvic floor work with a physical therapist, I’ve been using the information I learned in the Built to Birth course (get the bundle—it’s phenomenal) and from The Sculpt Society Prenatal program. I’ve only been able to do one or two of the actual prenatal workouts, but I’ve been practicing the pelvic floor breathing work as much as I can.
“Invest in Your Birth”: Preparing for Birth Itself
Built to Birth: This is hands-down one of the best investments I made for preparing for my birth. I bought the bundle on Black Friday sale and it included a variety of courses including the Built to Birth Course, Newborn Care, Breastfeeding, a Prenatal and Postnatal Workout course, Postpartum care, etc. It’s a tremendous amount of value for the price and extremely comprehensive. This course is created by Bridget Teyler, who also posts a lot of great content on YouTube and Instagram. 10/10 would recommend getting this course and starting some of it early. There is A LOT of material to get through and I know I won’t remember it all, but I feel much better prepared going into birth having done it.
Hiring a Doula: I saw a post by Bridget Teyler that said, “Invest in your birth,” because it’s one of the most impactful and life-changing things you’ll ever go through. I had been considering hiring a doula for a while, but that really solidified my decision. Although I want a really intimate birth experience, I also wanted to ensure that both my husband and I had adequate support leading up to and during the actual event. We hired an incredible doula who has been so supportive leading up to birth and I feel really confident that between her, my wonderful husband, and our midwifery team that we will be in great hands when baby girl arrives.
Postpartum Healing: Body, Mind, & Soul
Herbal Support: One thing I’ve really tried to do is gather all of the herbal support I think I’ll want or need postpartum. Since this is my first child, I don’t exactly know what I’ll want, need, or use, so these are my best educated guesses. I was a big fan of Earthley Wellness Ease the Ache for menstrual cramps prior to pregnancy and I’ve heard they’re great for early labor and postpartum cramping, so I got a big bottle of that (the non-alcoholic one tastes like raspberry jam btw). I also picked up a Postpartum Balance tincture as well as an Energy Plus tincture that supports iron levels. I’ve been slightly anemic throughout my pregnancy, but the increased iron in my prenatals has made me nauseous, so this is something I plan to work on post baby.
Sitz Baths: Another Earthley product I picked up. Sitz baths are known to be very soothing and healing postpartum and to help with pain and discomfort. This one is a blend of comfrey leaf, lavender flower, witch hazel bark, calendula and yarrow flowers.
The First 40 Days: This is a phenomenal book that I would recommend to all expecting mothers. It is essentially a Traditional Chinese Medicine/Ancient Chinese Wisdom approach to postpartum. I plan to practice a lot of the tips in this book, including really prioritizing the first 40 days postpartum as a period of rest, replenishment, and nourishment. My priorities postpartum are caring for my daughter, nourishing my body to support breastfeeding, and doing what I can to heal my body from a hellish 9 months of severe illness. “Bouncing Back” is not going to be a thing for me. I know I will have (and I’m planning for) a long and slow recovery.
Nourishing Teas: The First 40 Days gives some great suggestions for various teas to have postpartum, so I plan to nourish myself with lots of red date and goji berry teas, other herbal teas, and homemade fruit infusions.
Healing Broths/Soups: An unexpected challenge of having HG is not knowing what my relationship with food will be like once I give birth. At 35 weeks pregnant, I still struggle with daily nausea and severe food aversions. My vomiting has only been managed by Zofran, lifestyle changes (lots of rest, minimal time on my feet, etc.), and eating a handful of safe foods (because anything else I throw up). While most women experience pretty immediate relief once they deliver the placenta, some continue to struggle with similar symptoms postpartum. I am praying with all my might that I will be able to eat normally again and be able to nourish myself regularly with things like bone broth and soups.
Chiropractic Care: While I don’t know exactly how frequently I’ll able to go once the baby is born, I do plan to support myself and baby with chiropractic support to some degree once I’m postpartum.
The Sculpt Society: Although my dreams of a fit pregnancy are gone, I am extremely motivated to rebuild my strength and physical health postpartum. Once I’m cleared for exercise, my plan is to go very low and slow with fitness. Bodyweight exercises and light weights, resistance bands, and sliders, à la The Sculpt Society for the first few months and start to incorporate heavier weights as I’m able (though I have no idea when this will be). My concern is rebuilding my physical strength and I have no aesthetic goals or expectations for myself postpartum. Of course, I’ll be documenting my journey here on the blog, so stay tuned (and be sure to join my mailing list so you don’t miss updates!)
Happy Juice: If you’re not familiar, Happy Juice is a blend of products that is said to support your gut microbiome health and the production of serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. It is also said to support cognitive function, energy levels, concentration, mood, motivation, etc.
I’ve been hearing about Happy Juice for over a year and a half now and even gave it a shot myself about this time last year. However, I only stuck with it for about a week before I returned it, not knowing you really need to give it at least a month if not two or three to start seeing results. I will say, the taste was absolutely phenomenal, but what is really interesting to me is all the moms who rave about it as part of their postpartum care. I’d like to give it another shot probably after my first 40 days, just to be sure I can handle flavored liquids at that point and to see what difference it makes in supporting my mood, focus, energy, etc.
Grace, Grace, Grace: After such a long and difficult pregnancy, this is going to be my mantra postpartum. Grace for myself. Grace for my husband. Grace for us as a couple as we navigate an entirely new way of life with our daughter. For me this will look like lots of prayer, listening to empowering sermons, and relying on my faith for strength.
Surrendering to Motherhood: One of the things I think our culture really gets wrong is the focus on trying to hold onto our Maidenhood and who we were as women before we become mothers after we give birth. While this deserves a whole post unto itself, I think this is in part responsible for all the gadgets that exist that hold and rock babies so we can be “hands-free” parents, sleep training schedules, baby containers, etc.
Our society views babies as an inconvenience and a hindrance to a woman’s productivity and our pre-baby independence. And while I understand it’s a luxury to get to stay at home with your child for really any length of time in this country, I think we’ve also forgotten that motherhood is meant to change us. We are meant to slow down, soften, and relish this precious period we get with our children. We are meant to be changed by the process of bringing life into the world. We are meant to be changed by the sacrifice AND to not see the sacrifice as martyrdom.
Alright friends, that’s it for today! I plan to do more updates once I’m postpartum to let you know what I’m actually doing at that time, what’s worked, what hasn’t etc. xx