There is health and then there is optimal health for new moms. And what I want for each and every new mom is optimal health! And let's be clear, I am NOT talking about the absence of disease— I am talking bursting with joy, thriving, feel'n like a million bucks and taking on the world kind of health.
But sadly, this isn't what I see in my clinical practice. Instead, I see mothers who are weighed down, over extended, under nourished (in every sense of that word), and who need much more support and love then the world is giving them.
And this was my experience too!
I had no idea what a toll motherhood would take on me or what it could mean for my health and my vitality. In truth, there is a lot medical school doesn't prep you for in motherhood. And to be down right honest, no one can really prepare you for this journey because it is uniquely your own.
After healing myself, I set out to do help other mothers do the same. And there is not a day I am not grateful for the lowest points in my health because from it I became a better doctor, a better woman, and a better mother.
Optimal Health for New Moms
And I was inspired to write the book I wish I had when I gave birth to my son. It has been a long labor (yes, longer than my son's birth), but I am so excited that Healing Your Body Naturally— The New Mom's Guide to Navigating the Fourth Trimester will launch on January 14th!
While the release of my book is only a few days away, I want to share with you my interview with Dr. Sara Defrancesco regarding optimizing your health as a mother.
Here's a bit of what I share:
- Postpartum Care: how to take care of mom in the year after childbirth and beyond.
- Why feeling tired isn’t just a normal part of being a new mom and needs to be investigated.
- Viewing childbirth as an intense athletic event and caring for moms appropriately.
- Creating a postpartum care plan as part of your prenatal and birth plan.
- Solutions for fatigue, decreased milk production, and irritability.
- Holistic Pelvic Care: Rehab for the pelvic bowl myofascia on a physical and energetic level.
- Why kegel exercises aren’t always the best approach for healing pelvic issues.
- How postpartum depression can be caused by thyroid problems and when to get your thyroid levels checked.
- Dr. Brighten loves coffee! And her message to you about why she wants you to enjoy it instead of depend on it.
- Feeding the adrenals with B-vitamins, magnesium, vitamin C, gelatin, and bone broth.
- Finding the support you need to thrive.
- Why your #1 job in the first two weeks postpartum is to lay in bed and cuddle your baby.
- Labs Dr. Brighten runs for her postpartum patients.
- What to do about hair loss and anxiety postpartum.