If You’ve Never Seen A Placenta
If you’ve never seen a placenta, this beautiful image shows the size of it perfectly. After birth, the placenta detaches from the uterus leaving a wound the size of a plate. Now imagine you had a wound that large on the outside of your body. You would be told by everyone to rest, look after yourself and take time to heal.
So why is it expected that new mothers should ‘bounce back’ so quickly after childbirth? When this is just one thing that needs healing; not to mention all the other physical, emotional and psychological changes we need to adjust to..
If you’re a new mum reading this, it’s ok to stay in bed with your baby. It’s ok to ask others for help. It’s ok to prioritise yourself and your baby. Get your family involved, ask your friends for some help, get a postnatal doula. Don’t rush your post-birth recovery, be easy on yourself. No better time to do so than just after you’ve given birth.
.
.
.
ETA: On average it takes about 4-6 weeks for the uterus to shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size.
