Written by: Viviane Schima, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Postpartum. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word postpartum is defined as ‘occurring in or being the period following childbirth.’ If you put ‘postpartum’ into a Google search, the first link that comes up isn’t the definition of this very word but rather its conjunction with other words such as postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety. While it’s important to know these terms, in order for us to understand what those truly mean (what could the possible trigger have been, what impact they might have had on the mother, and what the next steps should be to alleviate the mother from these postpartum stages) we need to come back to the original word source ‒ postpartum.
Even our computers don’t recognize the word postpartum. The red squiggly line clearly shows us the lack of information we have on this sacred period in a woman’s life. Tracing back the knowledge and deeply rooted cultural practices can act as a powerful force in swinging the pendulum back to the cultural norm of honoring and embracing the postpartum period.
Defining Postpartum
As with the majority of words having their roots in Latin, postpartum is no exception. Postpartum literally means ‘bringing forth’ or ‘after birth.’ This definition, therefore, drives home the point that after giving birth, women are permanently postpartum. This view, however, is an apparent disruption to the modern dogma of ‘Get your body back. Once you fit into your pre-pregnancy jeans, you’ll be back to normal.’ This dogma, nonetheless, can be rather destructive and detrimental to our mental health and to our body image. The basic fact is that there is no going back after birth. Afterbirth, or postpartum, is your new normal and as such, should be embraced and supported.
How Postpartum Came to Be Postpartum
To understand how postpartum affects our bodies, we need to possess the knowledge of how postpartum came to be a thing in the first place.
Some 3 million years ago, Lucy – a relatively small-brained individual with dangling arms and long, slightly curved hands and feet – together with other Australopithecus afarensis, made a huge evolutionary leap that would change the way we see the world forever. The reason for this is that Lucy was the first humanoid to be walking upright on two feet. This impactful leap, however, wasn’t isolated from other developmental shifts. A lot needed to happen in order for this massive change to be successful and sustainable.
1. Narrowing of our birth canals
Before we walked on two feet, our birth canals were much wider and because of this, we had the ability to birth overall larger babies with larger heads. The baby had, possibly, a longer time in the uterus and the brain also had the chance to stew up a few more neural connections, so, therefore, was more developed upon birth. This allowed for more independence even though babies still needed a lot of care and support back then.
2. Shorter pregnancy
Although there isn’t enough research to support this claim, there are hypotheses out there that imply that the wider pelvic floor in Neanderthals allowed for a longer gestation period. This particular hypothesis places the length of pregnancy between 12-14 months. Given that the postpartum period – also referred to as the fourth trimester – ‘officially’ lasts for three months would give this hypothesis a more solid ground. However, at this point, no conclusions can be made.
3. Highly Immature Babies
Size doesn’t equal self-sufficiency and bigger doesn’t necessarily mean more maturity. Because our brain was increasing in its mass, while at the same time our birth canal was narrowing by the ninth month of pregnancy, a baby’s brain reached its maximum circumference that could pass through this narrow passage. This explains why today’s babies are fully dependent on us and are considered highly immature upon birth (yet amazingly competent). Although our babies’ brains are considerably bigger than their ancestor's, this doesn’t mean that the brain is fully developed ‒ quite the opposite. Babies today, are born with only 26 percent to 29 percent of their brains developed and they continue to develop well until they reach their mid-twenties. We could argue that this is the evolutionary comprise that had to take place in order for us to sustain walking on two feet.
Albeit there is still a lot of research to be done on this, all of these arguments could act as the backbone of postpartum. Today, we portray mothers as superwomen who can do it all on their own. While this is an honorable statement about the independence and emancipation of women in today’s world, we, as humans, were simply not preprogrammed to do it all on our own.
Birth naturally changes your body's anatomy and function. Although our anatomy changes, our functional capacity as women is not necessarily dictated by our anatomical changes.
What is Natural Has Become Countercultural
It is, without doubt, a very interesting (if not the most interesting) time in history to be a woman and a mother. Women are becoming the embodiment of self-sufficiency and empowerment. We could say that we have the ultimate freedom when it comes down to our choices of what we want and how we want it. And yet, we are suffering a great deal when it comes to reintegration after birth. We are presented with celebrities being in full pre-pregnancy shape within two weeks of giving birth. You might see a friend back at work within days of giving birth with a seemingly carefree attitude. And we might see a woman who is barely standing up on her feet so she can meet the financial demands to sustain herself and her baby. What we see is a systemic chain reaction of a flawed system, an unrealistic expectation of what a ‘perfect’ woman should look like, and the devaluation of a woman’s remarkable ability to grow a human being.
Society has moved away from the ‘natural’ and ‘necessary’. We’ve come to think that what is natural has become countercultural and what ought to be a necessity is now considered a luxury.
We started to rely on technology so much that what is innate and instinctual to us needs now to be relearned and is, oftentimes, looked upon as almost abnormal.
The slightest discomfort is viewed as pathological and sends an alert for immediate medical attention. This isn’t to say we should ignore our body’s discomfort and not seek medical attention. However, discomfort is one of many ways our body communicates with us, and as with every signal, it comes in stages.
How Long is This Going to Last?
'How long is this going to last? When will I feel normal again?’
Although each culture has its own definition of how long, approximately, the postpartum period lasts, it is highly individual for each woman and mother (I would say that it’s universally longer than we want it to be, expect it to be, and think it should be). Additionally, as said above, postpartum never really ends. It’s the new normal. However, cultures have come to honor (some more than others) the immediate postpartum period, anywhere between six weeks and ninety days.
Despite the differences across cultures, what is shared is the attention to creating an environment that respects the five universal needs:
Extended resting period
Caring touch
Nourishing food
Contact with nature
The presence of a wise woman (usually thought of as a postpartum doula, breastfeeding specialist, midwife, immediate family, or friends, who can share knowledge during this emotionally and physically demanding time)
What is important for us to realize here is that, whether we want to or not, we’re part of a bigger and noncompliant system ‒ nature. I say noncompliant because nature takes its time and it definitely doesn’t take shortcuts. Take a seed as an example ‒ for it to sprout and bloom, it needs the right conditions such as the right soil, water, and sunlight. What’s more, it needs time. And we can’t push it to happen any faster than what its natural rhythm is. It’s the same with your postpartum.
The Ultradian Rhythm
When not interrupted, our bodies go through natural cycles of activity and rest, expansion and contraction on an everyday basis. These cycles are called ultradian rhythms and they happen every 90-120 minutes. This means that we can be and stay truly active and focused for only a certain amount of time. We then need a 5-10 minute resting period in order for our brain to return to its optimal function.
However, when we ignore the need to slow down, we often lean on an external source of energy (think caffeine), or we go straight to our own internal reserves of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to push through. By doing so, we are overriding our bodies’ natural need and ability to self-regulate.
Without sleep and rest, we would die. Without enough sleep and rest, we struggle, to say the least. And with physical and mental sleep deprivation, we get sick.
The Dark Side of The Healthcare System
The problem that arises in (mainly) Western Cultures is the lack of action to ensure and create these five essential needs for the new mother.
The timing of the six-week postpartum check-up reflects the older wisdom of the immediate postpartum period. This wouldn't be a problem if we, as a society, attended to it with the same wisdom in mind our ancestors did. However, this short and superficial check-up is as far from honoring the postpartum period as it could be.
Postpartum is about mothering the mother. When the mother thrives, the baby thrives.
Mothers are often sent off within fifteen minutes of entering the doctor’s office, oftentimes not even being physically checked ‒ this alone is very concerning because it allows any possible complications to go unnoticed (not to mention the devastating aftermath it creates for the mother, both mentally and physically). Additionally, mothers often feel embarrassed to bring anything up themselves or ask ‘silly’ questions because of how superficial and routine this check-up seems to be. This, however, shouldn’t and couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Vicious Cycle Continues
What we, as a society, end up with are mothers, who doubt and don’t trust themselves and in their ability to be ‘good enough’ mothers for their babies. This opens the unwanted and completely unnecessary door to postpartum depression, anxiety, and other postpartum struggles. The concerning thing here is that it isn’t just the mother who’s taking a very taxing toll from not being able to give her body what it needs ‒ it’s the relationship the mother and her baby have or, in this case, could have. But they are limited due to a lack of support and care.
Breastfeeding, in particular, can be heavily affected by this. Studies have shown countless benefits of breastfeeding when mothers suffer from postpartum depression. Another study published in Biological Psychological in 2004 compared the brains of one-month-old babies using an EEG. They found that the brains of bottle-fed babies whose mothers were depressed showed some abnormal development. Breastfed babies of mothers who were depressed, on the other hand, developed normally.
Sadly, too many physicians don’t appreciate or acknowledge the importance and value of breastfeeding. Some even go as far as refusing to treat the mother’s postpartum depression unless she weans her baby. There is a substantial lack of evidence on the harm that can occur from antidepressant medications. However, the harm that can occur if an infant is not breastfed is heavily supported by countless studies and clinical evidence. Breastfeeding is often a safe haven for mothers who struggle with depression (to be forced into weaning is nothing but coercive and exploitative). It can have devastating outcomes for a new mother, but especially a depressed mother, who is, already very vulnerable. This makes the approach particularly despicable when it comes to patient care.
The consensus on this is that breastfeeding should never be sacrificed. Nowadays, there are many options (including alternative healing, of course) when it comes to choosing the right medication that doesn’t interfere with or force a mother to wean early. For more resources, check out Dr. Hale’s Medication and Mother’s Milk either in a book version or in an easily downloadable app version.
Mothering The Mother
We live in a state of time poverty. That puts tremendous pressure on a new mother whose body and mind just went through the magnitude of growing and birthing a human being.
Oftentimes, mothers find themselves in a state of massive internal conflict. On one side, a super fast recovery would earn them the title Superwoman. On the other side, taking the time needed means going against what our culture momentarily accepts as the norm. Feebleminded and intrusive thoughts are not left out of this simmering stew of ideologies. Being viewed as selfish and spoiled can feel appalling, judgemental, and shameful, to say the least.
The good thing is that not only can we be in full control of our emotions and choices, but we can also embrace them by doing so.
Giving birth is a life-altering experience and as such should be treated with great acknowledgment and care.
When the woman and mother feel supported, her baby thrives, their relationship thrives, and the community thrives. With this in mind, our planet can thrive and create the best environment for future generations.
It isn’t just a saying when I say, ‘A healthy and strong community starts at home.’
If you’re expecting a baby, have recently given birth, or are struggling through the postpartum period, don’t hesitate, Mama, for this is the time for you to thrive. Book a call with me here!
Viviane Schima, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Viviane Schima is a Newborn Care & Breastfeeding specialist, founder of The AH-mazing, Pain-Free Birth Formula™, Mama Coach and a podcast host. As a certified Lactation Consultant & Doula, Viviane uses her expert knowledge and more than ten years of experience to provide mothers with the support they need and the results they want. She believes that making informed decisions creates a path to empowerment and owning your choices. For Viviane, this empowerment journey begins with preconception, to the moment of conception, and beyond. Viviane is an enthusiastic advocate of breastfeeding, low intervention births and “skin-to-skin” contact after birth. “Creating a strong and healthy community starts at home."
