Creating a Postpartum Plan

Your postpartum plan is equally as important as your birth plan

The postpartum time is a unique time of wonder, bonding, healing, and exhaustion all wrapped up together. Your body has just gone through a non-stop marathon growing and birthing a baby.  In our culture, there’s such a strong emphasis placed on labor and birth preparation. During pregnancy, families carefully consider what they would like out of their birth experience. They strategically plan all of their goals and preferences. However, many expectant families don’t understand or realize just how important it is to have a postpartum plan, too.

A postpartum plan is equally important as a birth plan, and often doesn’t get as much attention. A new baby brings great change, and is a major life transition. Planning for your postpartum is a way to ensure a sense of preparedness for life after baby. Having a strategy in place and support lined up can help ease your transition into parenthood, too. 

Creation of your postpartum plan

Creating a postpartum plan can help you prepare for all of the changes and challenges that postpartum brings, and can help you prepare for parenthood, too. Your postpartum plan should contain your preferences, strategies and goals during the first few weeks and months after your baby is born. Your postpartum plan should also include your plan for your recovery, and your wishes and desires for life with your new baby.  The best part is that your plan can be customized to fit your family’s needs.

When to create your postpartum plan & how a postpartum doula can help

You’ll want to create your postpartum plan during pregnancy, ideally sometime in your third trimester. If you’d like extra planning support, you can consult with a postpartum doula to help you plan and prepare for your postpartum. Building a relationship with a postpartum doula prenatally, can help expecting families be more prepared postpartum. A postpartum doula can be a great resource to help guide new families during the major life transition that comes with the birth of a baby. It’s important to note that you’ll need much more help than you realize. Start thinking about and building your postpartum and parenting village now. Remember, it’s ok to ask for support.

What to include in your postpartum plan

Your postpartum plan should contain information on various topics such as: new mother care, rest and recovery, new mother essentials, nutrition and meal preparation, how you will feed your baby, creating a support system, household duties, and receiving visitors.

Questions for the soon-to-be-mother to consider:

What makes you feel cared for? What essential recovery supplies will you need? Be sure to include in your plan how you will stay nourished and hydrated.

Meal Preparation 

 How will you plan for nutritious meals? Will you create freezer meals beforehand? Do you have family or friends that will cook for you? Meal train options? Postpartum meal chefs?

Rest & Recovery

Rest and recovery time needs to be optimized for the new mother. How will you prioritize rest?

Household Duties

Figure out all of the household responsibilities. Who will take care of the grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, and cleaning? Who will care for or set up childcare for older children? Who will do the drop off/pick up? What about pet care, bill paying, landscaping, etc.?

Building Your Postpartum and Parenting Village 

It’s imperative to begin researching and building your support team before your baby arrives. Ask for recommendations of postpartum care providers from others. Put together names and contact information of perinatal providers such as: postpartum doulas, lactation consultants, pelvic floor therapists, licensed mental health providers, etc. Look around to see who you are already connected to.  Consider your family, friends, neighbors, and anyone else you know that you would like to be part of your postpartum and parenting village. 

Receiving Visitors

What’s your plan for receiving visitors? You might want to consider that minimizing visitors is best for the first few months after a baby’s born. Decide on a list of ideas of how family and friends can help.

A Few More Details

There are many more various topics to consider for life after baby. A few more considerations include:

Relationship expectations, parental time together, parenting roles and expectations, care of other children and pets, and returning to work.

Please be mindful that your postpartum plan is fluid and may need to be flexible at times. Your hopes, dreams and expectations for your postpartum may change.

Also, remember that your postpartum plan can be as simple or comprehensive as you want.

Preparing for your postpartum and life with a new baby is one of the best things you can do for you and your family. If you’d like assistance with planning for your postpartum, I offer individual sessions of up to 90 minutes, and work one on one with families in planning for their postpartum.

What Real Clients Say About Postpartum Doula Care

“I feel more prepared and capable as a new parent after having spent time with Kristin. Everything can be so scary, challenging, and confusing, but she made me feel like it was all part of the growing and learning process. I would recommend her to anyone wanting support postpartum. I was able to enjoy my newborn daughter more, with less stress and anxiety.”
– Elise H.

Contact me HERE to schedule a planning for your postpartum session. 

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