Post partum: a period of almost perfect happiness
Introduction
Learning the right positions
Fighting against “heaviness” on a daily basis
Relaxing
Helping the body to “recover from pregnancy”
Introduction
In an age when it is possible to have a virtually pain- or risk-free birth, the post partum period should be rosy and idyllic.
And yet there are those little discomforts, extreme tiredness and discouragements that darken the landscape somewhat.
Modern obstetrics gives little importance to “simple post partum events” that do not require any medical care and mothers leave the maternity hospital very quickly without knowing how to manage this strange period.
They no longer recognise their body, feel a little “shapeless” and sometimes suffer from tension in the back, neck, pelvis, etc…their breasts are heavy and sometimes painful, the perineum both sensitive and weak, and their stomach “too big”.
It is not necessary to wait six weeks – the famous “perineal rehabilitation” – before beginning to take care of yourself, relax, help your body to recuperate, recover your energy and feel more like yourself again.
A little body-focused programme, which you can do with baby at the breast or in your arms with no added tiredness, can make the future look brighter.
This text was written by Dr Bernadette de Gasquet.
A doctor, yoga teacher and mother of three, Dr Bernadette de Gasquet has been supporting parents-to-be for over 25 years.
In her work, she combines a body-oriented approach, traditional know-how and modern medicine. Known through her books and the mass media, Bernadette de Gasquet also teaches health care and sports professionals.
In particular, Dr de Gasquet is employed as a trainer in a great many maternity clinics in France and abroad, offering postural guidance for pregnancy, childbirth and the post partum period.