Your baby is here. Over the days, weeks, and months ahead, you have two things to look after: your baby, and yourself. Both matter. Both deserve attention.
This section is split into two parts: Your New Baby, with practical guidance on caring for a newborn, and Your Recovery, with the same care given to you, the woman who has just given birth. New mothers often find it easy to look up information about the baby, but harder to admit they need information about their own recovery. Both are equally important here.
The first six weeks after birth are often called the fourth trimester, an acknowledgement that pregnancy doesn’t really end on the day your baby is born. Your body is recovering. Your baby is adjusting to the world. Both of you are learning a new daily rhythm.
The pages in this section walk you through:
There is no rush to read all of it. Most pages will become relevant at different points in the first six months. Bookmark this page; come back to it when something specific arises.
The practical and medical care of your newborn, from the first hours at home through the first weeks.
Your own physical, emotional, and gynaecological recovery in the weeks and months after birth.
A short reminder, because new mothers very often miss this part.
You have just done something extraordinary. Your body is healing, your hormones are recalibrating, your sleep is broken, and you are responsible for the most important new person in your life. In that context, the kind of self-care that matters is not bubble baths and yoga retreats. It is much simpler:
You don’t have to do this alone, and you don’t have to do it well immediately. Be kind to yourself.
