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Beating Post Natal Depression

It’s an important milestone for me this week.  My youngest is 18 months old and I can confidently, categorically state I have beaten Post Natal Depression, as in THIS TIME it did NOT get me!

I feel so fortunate and relieved and proud.  PND does not discriminate, yet I was determined to do whatever I could and leave as little as possible to chance.  I prepared and immersed myself in achieving a positive birth and a positive start second time round.  Now I want to share everything I did.  This isn’t a guarantee, however, anyone that has suffered with depression in the past will no doubt like me want to do what they can to keep it away, especially at such a special time in our lives as a mother with a new baby.

It may seem like a lot of preparation but after missing the first 18 months my first borns life, time I will never get back and that fuels me to help women have a better start than I did.  I wouldn’t wish difficult times on any mother, I wouldn’t wish PND on my worst enemy and I believe you can’t put a price on good health.  Especially when its your own.

Here it is:

PRENATALLY

  1. I practiced self care in pregnancy, ensuring I took time out to take care of myself, I knew nurturing myself would allow the right hormones to flow and I would connect and bond with my baby.  Reiki, reflexology, pregnancy relaxation, massage were some of the therapies I had.
  2. Metamorphic technique – This breaks the cycle of my mothers pregnancy and my birth (my mother was grieving the loss of her father), my mothers birth and the first birth experience I had with my first son.  Little bit “woo” but I’m sure I felt something in me let go, amazing!
  3. Through my recent re-training to learn what I do now I understood my bodies capabilities far better, I had confidence and knowledge.  I prepared my body and mind for a positive birth.
  4. I had counselling to help me deal with guilt I still felt about having PND, guilt about the kind of detached mother I believed I was and guilt over what I had put my husband through.  Not everyone will need this however this helped me significant!  I realised I did the best I could at the time and I forgave myself as much as I could.
  5. I took time to connect with my baby, Pregnancy Yoga helped with this, I spoke to him, I touched my tummy lots, I visualised him as part of our family.
  6. I ate healthy foods
  7. I exercised regularly and as well as pregnancy yoga I walked and swam.

** I prepared more for my babies arrival than I did for my wedding day!  I took it seriously, only someone who knows what a crappy birth and start to motherhood is like will understand why I was so determined.  It shouldn’t be like this for us to take better care of ourselves! **

POSTNATALLY

  1. Postnatally I knew I would ask for help if I needed it and I certainly wouldn’t wait for months and months like I had before.  I knew if I was ok then my family would be ok.
  2. I prepared healthy meals for the first few weeks
  3. I brought a sling to use so that we could have plenty of skin to skin in the early days and weeks
  4. I took pressure off myself regarding feeding and opted to bottle feed from the moment he was born.  There were several reasons for this including sharing the night feeds so if I was exhausted I could get sleep.  It was absolutely the right decision for us.
  5. Having an established support network of other women going through pregnancy and the first milestones was priceless.  Also my support network was made up of people that had supported me in pregnancy and I made sure I was aware of the local groups available that could help me if I was struggling at any point.
  6. Even though I know and teach baby massage I booked a baby massage course to attend myself, I booked this whilst I was still pregnant so I could do it as soon as possible.  I know just how beneficial baby massage is for mum and baby, skin to skin contact, bonding, hormones etc so it was a must for me to dedicate quality time with my new baby without distractions.
  7. I had appreciation and understanding of the fourth trimester.  This concerns our hormones, our healing and how I nurtured myself and bonded with my baby, I knew this time could impact my long term physical and mental wellbeing.
  8. FINALLY – Placenta encapsulation.  I would recommend this to every single woman, it helps with our healing, stabilising our hormones, helps milk supply come in much quicker, helps with energy levels when you’re exhausted and so much more, it’s mother natures powerful healer.

So this is everything!

I hope this reaches women that need it or can benefit from it in some way.  Please share with any pregnant women or new mothers, knowledge of how we can help ourselves could reduce the shocking perinatal mental health statistics.

With love,

Clare

Xx