You Can’t Pour From An Empty Cup...

The post-birth period can be challenging physically, and emotionally.

There are simply not enough conversations about what happens after birth - the changes the body goes through, the messy hair and messy mind, postpartum bleeding, the painful process of figuring out breastfeeding…...

It is so common for women to experience physical pain and fatigue in the postpartum period. However, because of the magnitude of the task of being a mother, a lot of women put their own health on the back burner.

So let’s talk about why it is important that women get their postpartum pain and symptoms addressed.

Pain Can Affect Your Ability to Care for Yourself and Your Child...

Research shows that untreated pain is associated with greater risk of postpartum depression, chronic pain, and an increased opioid usage for pain relief.

There are various ways to manage pain and discomfort.

Depending on your circumstances (there is no judgement here), medication might be what you need or what is most convenient for you at that point. However, patching up these issues with short term solutions such as painkillers does not solve the problem for long term and could lead to further issues down the road.

Considering 80% of mothers in Singapore breastfeed beyond 2 months, it is important to consider the effects of prescribed or over-the-counter medication on the breastfed infant.

What mothers consume will be passed on to her child through breast milk. Despite the many amazing benefits of breastmilk, drugs and irritants can leach through breastmilk, exposing infants to them. These amounts may be minuscule, but they can have detrimental effects on your child due to the small body-weight ratio.

When possible, allow yourself to consider options like chiropractic care, physiotherapy, and postpartum depression therapy to help you cope and heal. It is not easy, and it is always okay to ask for help from others.

Pregnancy Changes Your Body In More Ways Than You Might Expect and It Doesn't Stop When Your Baby is Born...

Post pregnancy low back, neck, and shoulder pain are very common. But it is important to know that they are not normal. It is your body signalling at you saying ‘hey, something is not right!’.

Pregnancy can aggravate a lot of pre-existing issues with your body. If you had back pain prior to pregnancy or during pregnancy, chances are, it might plague you after pregnancy too.

Having an infant suckling from your breast most of the night and day can be taxing on the body. The constant looking down while trying to figure out breast attachment puts a lot of stress on the neck and shoulders.

To put it simply, your body is under a lot of stress to adapt to these new physical changes (in additional to the fact that you just went through labour!), and it is important to address these issues and nip them in the bud before they become a long-standing problem.

A beautiful way to reduce pressure on your nervous system and support your body to self-heal and self-regulate is through chiropractic care.

Finally, go easy on yourself, appreciate your body for what it has done, the body that grew your beautiful child. You are enough.