10 Ways To Prepare for a Smoother Postpartum Recovery

10 Ways To Prepare for a Smoother Postpartum Recovery

There was once a time when a woman who just gave birth was encouraged and expected to do little else than rest, recover, and nurse the baby. This was called lying in—a time for mother and infant to convalescence for the days and weeks after childbirth.

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5 Reasons Why I'm Still Rehabbing My Postpartum Injuries Years Later

5 Reasons Why I'm Still Rehabbing My Postpartum Injuries Years Later

I had my son about three and a half years ago and I STILL have linger issues from that perinatal time in my life. The seven hours of pushing, vacuum assisted delivery, and third degree tearing no doubt have a lot to do with where I am now. As you might imagine, I had persistent vaginal pain, for months. The intensity of it lessened over time, but I was never really comfortable until I sought professional help.

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When Childbirth Scars Are More Than Skin Deep

When Childbirth Scars Are More Than Skin Deep

Sometimes childbirth scars us, physically and emotionally.

These two kinds of scars seem inseparable from one another.

For me, I didn’t know which one came first, but I knew that as long as my physical issues remained I suffered emotionally.

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The Important Truth About Postpartum Depression: You Might Not Recognize It Right Away

The Important Truth About Postpartum Depression: You Might Not Recognize It Right Away

As with so many women who experience PPD, Jess’s story is complicated. She didn’t have it with her first child, Sarah, and the signs and symptoms with her second child, Joseph, didn’t appear until close to a year later. What’s more, the symptoms that typically describe PPD didn’t quite match what she was going through.

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The Personal is Political: On Writing About the Body

The Personal is Political: On Writing About the Body

As long as women are giving birth, the need to support postpartum moms remains. We’re far from ensuring that support, and in the past few years it seems as though access to comprehensive women’s health is increasingly threatened.  

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