- When The Baby Naps, You Nap—One of the best ways to combat your fatigue will be learning to nap with your little one. As soon as the baby goes down for a quick nap, settle in, and catch up on a little bit of sleep yourself. This can help you to make up for some of the sleep you lost, feeding the baby in the wee hours of the morning.
- Take Your Vitamins—Postnatal vitamins are a great way to help your body to recover from childbirth. Fatigue is often linked to a lack of proper nutrients, and mothers are no exception to this rule. A good vitamin can help replenish the nutrients that you have lost and can stimulate healing in your body.
- Lean On Those Around You—The old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child” wasn’t made up for nothing. Raising a baby is exhausting work. Newborns need constant care and attention, and there is only so much that you can do while also caring for yourself. If you have someone who can drop by and hold the baby for a few hours while you get a nap in, take advantage of it. You must care for yourself in order to care for your baby. That means letting someone else care for you every once in a while.
- Simplify Your Processes—You might be wearing yoga pants every day, and breakfast might just be oatmeal, but that’s more than good enough. When you’re juggling a baby and healing your body, you need to take a rain check on some of your more complex routines. Keep it simple so that you have more time to focus on the baby and your recovery.
- Drink Plenty of Water—Water is a miraculous fluid that makes it possible for us to function to the best of our abilities. We need water. Most of us need way more water than we are drinking, and this is even more true for new moms. Take the time to hydrate. Drink water every single hour that you are awake. It will help keep your body running smoothly and will help lessen some of that pesky fatigue.
- Check-In With Yourself—Postpartum fatigue can do a number on your mental health, which is why it is so important to check in with yourself. Remind yourself that you’re doing the best that you can, that you have a beautiful baby, and that even though everything is changing, it is going to work out in the long run.
What Everybody Ought To Know About Postpartum Fatigue
B
Postpartum fatigue is something that has been acknowledged but has traditionally gone undefined for a very long time. Childbirth can put a lot of strain on the body, but the strain doesn’t end there. As you adjust to life with your new baby, you will find that everything has changed quite suddenly. It can feel as if nothing is getting done like there aren’t enough hours in the day, and like the concept of sleep is nothing more than a distant memory. If you’ve noticed that you seem to be lagging after bringing your little bundle of joy into the world, don’t worry. You’re not alone in this. 76% of moms reported experiencing it during a study. In this article, we will discuss postpartum fatigue and how you can overcome it.
What Is Postpartum Fatigue?
Postpartum fatigue is an ongoing feeling of exhaustion that every woman faces after her baby has been born. It is not simply feeling tired. It is an exhausting weight that can make you feel as if you are moving through jello. Everyone experiences it differently, but it is the kind of bone-tired feeling that will leave you wondering if you will ever have energy again.
Exhaustion from postpartum fatigue
When you think about it, it makes quite a bit of sense that you are feeling particularly exhausted and in need of postpartum care. After all, you did just undergo labor and have an entire baby. This physically taxing process can leave you in need of physical recovery, make the hormones responsible for running your body go on the fritz, and can drain you more than any workout that you have ever done in your life. Childbirth is a lot for a body to handle and it takes some time to bounce back from it.
Beyond simply giving birth, there is the new baby element to consider. Even parents who adopt their little bundle of joy are known to experience ongoing fatigue after the baby comes home. By now, you probably understand why. Babies take up a lot of time and energy. They need constant care and attention. They sleep irregularly. Even when they’re doing well and sleeping, you will probably find yourself fussing over them or marveling over their cute little toes. A lot goes into raising a newborn, and it tends to leave very little time for you to rest. Over time, this will compound.
Another factor that often plays a role in postpartum fatigue is breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a great way to transfer nutrients directly from your body to your baby’s. While this is a beautiful miracle of nature, those nutrients have to come from somewhere. For some women, breastfeeding can play a fairly significant role in their levels of exhaustion. When you bring all of these factors together, you get one tired mama bear with no time to sleep!
The Emotional Impact of Fatigue
For many people, fatigue is a bit of a mind game. Most of us would agree that being exhausted is incredibly unpleasant. When you’re fatigued, it can feel nothing short of impossible to put your best foot forward. In a lot of cases, you might not feel like yourself at all. You will look back at moments in your history when you pulled all-nighters for fun or went to the gym after a late night of partying and wonder how you ever managed it. Over time, this can build into a lot of frustration and impact your mental health in several ways.
For many, being fatigued is a bothersome sensation. In most cases, you would be frustrated, but with how tired you are, even frustration might be a bit of a stretch. Many women find themselves feeling gray or overwhelmed.
When you think about it, being physically and mentally incapable of living your life in the way that you are used to is a damaging thought. You might find yourself wondering if you will ever recover from the fatigue. You might find yourself crying because you’re exhausted, and the sink is full of dishes or because you forgot a friend’s birthday because you’ve been living in what feels like a trance all week. It can be incredibly trying, so try to be patient and kind to yourself. You’re going through a lot. You will recover, but for now, just focus on being good enough.
How Does Postpartum Fatigue Affect Me?
Postpartum fatigue can affect a new mom in a lot of ways. On the one hand, it will leave you feeling completely exhausted. This heavy exhaustion will generally be constant, and few basic things will help you to bounce back from it effectively. For a while, you will simply be tired all the time, and that will be your way of life.
In addition to the physical effects of postpartum fatigue, you might find yourself experiencing a wide range of mental and emotional effects. Many women find themselves frustrated that they can’t do more, wishing that they had energy, or even struggling with memory loss. If you thought the baby brain was bad before, wait until you haven’t gotten a full night’s rest in over two weeks.
How Long Does Postpartum Fatigue Last?
Postpartum fatigue, unfortunately, does not have a specific end date. It is really a matter of the individual. Some women find their way through it more quickly, while other women find themselves grappling with it for quite a while. Ultimately, it is a combination of factors that will determine this. Depending on what steps you take to combat your fatigue, the habits of your baby, and your diet, the fatigue might leave early or last for months.
Postpartum Care To Combat Postpartum Fatigue
There is no magical secret that will make your postpartum fatigue miraculously disappear. In reality, postpartum fatigue is a beast that all new mothers face, and even though you might be able to help yourself through it, the fact is that it is something that really must just be dealt with in any way that you can manage. Fortunately, there are a few tricks that new mothers can benefit from to lessen this troublesome fatigue.
Get rest whenever you can
Conclusion
Your baby took most of a year to grow and you simply cannot expect to come back from that overnight. As you adjust to life with a new baby in the home, whether it’s your first baby or not, you will be exhausted. Postpartum fatigue is completely normal, and though it doesn’t feel that way, it will pass over time. Stay strong, treat your body well, and focus on boosting your mental health to keep your spirits up.
References
keyboard_arrow_down
Explore Other Topics:
Download Our App
About Women's Health Tracker:
We are a dedicated one-stop destination for every woman who wants to either track or monitor health-related information across her years. We pride ourselves in being that one place where any woman can enter relevant information before, during and even after pregnancy…with a separate set of special trackers just for her newborn!
