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Life can seem really overwhelming when you are awaiting the biggest change in your life – becoming a mother. The nervousness and apprehensions only grow as you near the due date. One great way to utilise the nervous energy you feel towards the end of your pregnancy is to organise a plan for your postpartum life.

Parenthood is one job where you pick up the tricks of the trade while you go through the motions. However, the first few weeks after childbirth is a time when the mother’s body needs a lot of rest. In order to facilitate this, it makes sense to prepare and preplan a few details for the first few days after the delivery, which is also termed as a postpartum plan.

Why do I need a postpartum plan? 

One can never predict the effects of a delivery on a new mother, or what happens in the delivery room. One thing is for certain, though. The body takes several weeks to recover from the birthing process. The tiredness that a new mother, fresh out of the delivery room feels is much more than that felt by an expectant mother feels while carrying the baby. Caring for, feeding and changing a baby completely dependant on you while yourself being in a poor physical state is not easy. A to-do list, complete with contact information of people who can help can smooth things considerably at such a time.

What does a postpartum plan consist of?

Just like a birth plan helps your labour and delivery feel more organised, a postpartum plan makes the first few days of your baby’s life a little seem a little less messy and a little more of an organised chaos. It also provides a broad outline of your preferences regarding the way your baby is bathed, fed, cared for and how you want to take care of the domestic responsibilities. It can be an empowering tool to communicate your choices, and the kind of support you are looking for in these important matters well in advance to your medical team, family and friends. It is a good idea to take the help and input of your partner while making this plan.

Postnatal hospital stay

You need to start with listing down your preferences about the way things happen right after the birth at the hospital. This would help your medical team ascertain whether you want to hold your baby right after birth, your preferences regarding the first bath, first feeding, cord banking and other needs of the baby.

This could also include a list of visitors who are allowed to see you during your most vulnerable time, the amount of time that you’re comfortable for visitors to stay and even the exact times for these visits. For example, you could prefer all visitors to come in after 11 am and leave before noon, with each visitor staying for 30 minutes at a time.

Feeding the baby

One of your primary responsibilities after the birth of your baby is to ensure they are well fed. A newborn typically needs to be fed every couple of hours. Whether you choose to breastfeed, pump your breastmilk or use formula, would you like the baby to be fed on schedule irrespective of them demanding it, and if you want to be on your own while feeding the baby – all of this can be a part of the postpartum plan.

If you need to return to work soon after the birth, you will need to be all the more prepared. Enlist the help of your partner and family to make sure the baby is fed even when you are away. Some employers also allow nursing mothers some time or space to feed the baby. You could enquire about the policies on the matter at your workplace, and make the necessary arrangements.

Getting rest

While the baby’s needs are important to take care of, so is to ensure that a new mother is well rested. Lack of sleep and being constantly tired due to it is one of the most common complaints of new mothers. It would help to plan a sleeping schedule around that of the baby. This would also need considerations like co-sleeping, support from partner or other family members, ensuring that the mother herself is well nourished and hydrated and addressing any mental health concerns of both the parents.

Sometimes, you might just need someone to hold your baby for half an hour while you take a bath and dress up. There might be times you would want to indulge in activities, like listening to music or gaming, that might help you relax. Talk to your partner about such wants and needs. Help them in sharing the load of childcare and domestic responsibilities.

Household chores

Talking about domestic responsibilities, you may not have the time for any of the household chores while maneuvering your way through motherhood at this early stage. Write down a list of tasks that need to be done and do them when you can. Let your family and friends know you need help with these tasks. If possible, arrange for hired help beforehand.

Don’t get stressed or disheartened over the house being messy or the dishes piling up. Keep a few frozen meals prepared before you need to go to the hospital. If you have older children, you might want to arrange for them to be looked after by someone else.

Conclusion

A postpartum plan can be written and mailed to those who need to be abreast with it. This plan is only meant to be used as a guide to help organise your thoughts and actions when your mind may be too hazy from sleep deprivation. Don’t be too rigid about following it to the T though, as there may be several unplanned and unseen situations that may crop up. You are completely free to change things as and when required. However, having a basic structure of how you want things to work helps you, as well as those willing to help you.