Namita Nayyar:
5 Tips for mom-to-be to handle various issues related to pregnancy and childbirth?
Sarah Ezrin:
- Shore up your support team! We focus so much on the new baby and all the cool gear, but other than a bassinet, diapers, and a whole lot of burp cloths, you don’t need all the latest and greatest stuff. Instead, channel your resources into prenatal postpartum care: acupuncture, doula, night nurse, meal service, housecleaning
- Seek out pelvic floor support. Even if you have a c-section, you need pelvic floor healing after pregnancy. Honestly, we need it before too!
- If your provider isn’t listening, FIND ONE WHO WILL. You can switch providers up to the moment you’re giving birth. Yup, you can be in labor at the hospital and ask for a different provider.
- Trust your body. The forums and boards and providers may tell you things that don’t feel right according to your body. Trust your body’s innate wisdom above all else!
- “It’s all temporary” My favorite mantra for all things parenting (and life) is ‘It’s all temporary.’ No matter what you are facing, it will pass. This doesn’t mean we plaster a smile on our faces and grit our way through. It’s just a gentle reminder that the hardest moments will come to an end. But also the most beautiful ones. Can you be equally present for it all?
Namita Nayyar:
5 Parenting myths that need to be done away with and why?
Sarah Ezrin:
- Anything to do with “bouncing back”: There is no such thing as bouncing back. Our DNA changes upon conception, whether we carry to term or not and there are cells in our body that replicate daily. Even if we can look the “same” after birth (which is mostly based on genetics), we are not the same. Motherhood is one of the most profound transformations of our lifetime.
- That mom gets it all done because they’re superheroes: Real quick: Moms ARE ABSOLUTELY superheroes, but that’s not why we get it all done. We get it all done because we have to. There’s a profound lack of systems in place and an unsustainable cadence of work in our society that are forcing moms to “do it all.” Imagine what superpowers we could have if we had more help. Or equal pay? Or affordable childcare????
- That we’re meant to put our family first: This is a recipe for burnout and resentment. We learn it on planes, you MUST put your oxygen mask on first to help another. We must do things that fill us up, to have anything to give.
- Self-care is an overt experience that takes you away from your family: Nope, self-care is the little things we do every day. Sure a girl’s weekend or spa day is nice, but are they truly restful if you spend the whole time feeling guilty? Or if you come in so burnt out, they barely move the needle? Yoga teaches us that little rituals done throughout the day will fill our tanks sustainably. It’s tiny acts of kindness for ourselves.
- Women are innately maternal: Okay stay with me. There is an outdated and oppressive assumption that women are evolutionarily and genetically designed to be mothers and modern mammalian research and neurobiology have proven that mothers are not born, they are made and that any primary caregiver (male, nonbinary, grandparent, adopted parents, other extended family), show the same brain changes that women experience. Meaning we can all be mothers. It’s not in-built and therefore it’s so normal if it’s hard and unnatural.
Disclaimer
The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
