The Postpartum Power Plan: Healing Through Movement and Therapy

Motherhood can be beautiful, but it can also be overwhelming, challenging, and just plain exhausting. If you’re a little worried about impending motherhood, now is the time to create a postpartum plan to discover healing through movement, therapy, and other life resources. From simple solutions, like pelvic floor exercises, to comprehensive ideas, including life coaching, let’s create a plan that’s personalized for your needs. Follow along as I explore some options that may work for you!

Key Takeaways

• Preparing a postpartum plan ahead of time provides you with strategies to address challenges, such as exhaustion, self-care, healing, and emotional well-being.
• Therapy, alternative treatments, and energy-boosting practices, such as taking supplements or receiving a massage, can support recovery and mental well-being.
• Building a support network and easing back into fitness helps new moms heal physically and emotionally while managing daily responsibilities.

Why You Need a Plan

The demands on your body, emotions, and time will only increase after your child’s birth. You need to plan for those tough moments now, so that you and your support system already have solutions in place to deal with whatever obstacles lie ahead. You won’t always know what to expect postpartum, so having strategies for a wide variety of hurdles is essential. Some of the postpartum challenges you should be prepared to deal with may include: 

• Finding time to prep healthy meals
• Lacking motivation to work out and lose weight
• Ignoring self-care in favor of caring for the baby
• Always waking up sluggish and exhausted
• Burning out due to overwhelming responsibilities
• Letting your body heal from birth
• Experiencing back pain

There’s an answer to each of these concerns. Here are a few of the best options for every lifestyle.

• Therapy for Depression

Many women experience postpartum depression. Unfortunately, this taboo topic leads to many new moms suffering alone. If you’re concerned this may be something that crops up in your postpartum life, I recommend planning for therapy now. Meet with your primary care doctor to ask for a referral, and research therapists near you who specialize in treating new moms.

Some therapists also work remotely, so you can explore a broader range of providers outside of your local area. Include therapy in your postpartum plan as one of many healthy habits that can help you over the long term.

Therapy Alternatives

If you’re not sure whether traditional therapy is the right choice for your family, that’s allowed! There are many therapy alternatives that also address postpartum depression. Hypnotherapy for depression may be the answer for you. This type of treatment helps you work through concerns at a subconscious level, much deeper than traditional therapy can access. Hypnotherapy can be a good option for postpartum depression, as it can be effective for dealing with trauma, changes in brain chemistry, and major life changes.

• Treatments for Energy

Finding the energy to complete all of your daily tasks is a major hurdle for many new moms. You can barely get up in the middle of the night when the baby needs a feeding, so how will you ever keep up with everything else? There are many answers to this question, one of which may include bioidentical hormone therapy. This type of hormone therapy infuses your body with identical compounded hormones that your body may not be producing enough of, including estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. All of these hormones play essential roles in energy production, mood stabilization, and overall wellness.

Some other treatments that may increase your energy levels by stabilizing your body and mind connection:

• Getting a massage
• Starting a workout plan
• Adding supplements with B12, CoQ10, and iron
• Trying weekly IV therapy
• Finding relief with cold therapy

You may have to try them all to find the treatment that works best for you, but start with the easiest solution first. Add supplements to your diet before graduating to more intensive therapies, like IV therapy and bioidentical hormone therapy.

• Plan for Healing Your Body

Birth can be unpredictable. Your birth plan may have been vaginal, but you ended up with a C-section. You might be a little more torn than expected. When you get back from the hospital, you’ll need to rest and heal before you’ll feel able to start your previous routine. Have someone else who’s ready and willing to take over the day-to-day essentials so you get a break. This person may be your partner, parent, sibling, or close friend. Speaking to these people about your needs and expectations in advance will help ensure a smoother transition during your postpartum period.

• Get Back to Working Out

Once you’re back on your feet, getting back to a higher level of activity is essential to your mental and physical health. While you were probably staying active during pregnancy, the best workouts for your body need to evolve again to help you manage new stressors, strengths, and weaknesses postpartum.

When you head to the gym, start out with a beginner’s workout to assess your current progress. Then, speak with a personal trainer or other fitness expert about how to build a routine that helps you reach your goals.

Build Your Plan

A postpartum plan has many moving parts, and you may have to consider certain treatments and activities well in advance. Make your plan as comprehensive as possible. After all, it’s better to have a solution and not use it than panic at the last minute and sink deeper into your struggles when you don’t find an answer.

Share your plan with everyone who will be important to your care and support after birth, providing digital copies that serve as a reference. Your family and friends may also have postpartum recommendations from their own experiences that you may not have integrated into your care plan, such as spending more time outside or planning specific moments of self-care when you feel overwhelmed. You won’t know exactly what you need until you need it!

What’s your postpartum plan? Share with other moms-to-be here!