Postpartum Experience
The weeks and months after giving birth are a time of healing, learning, and adjustment for both your body and mind. These resources can help you navigate this new chapter with confidence, care, and support.
Whether you’re focusing on your emotional wellbeing, rebuilding muscle strength, or adjusting to life with a newborn, remember that healing takes time. You need patience and rest—and support—to be able to care for your baby and keep both of you safe and healthy.
Explore resources to support your emotional, mental, and physical recovery.
You’ll find guidance on caring for yourself and ways your friends, partners, and community can help you heal and adjust after birth.
Mental Health Resources
Life after giving birth brings many emotions—joy, exhaustion, and sometimes sadness or worry. These resources can help you understand what’s normal, recognize when you might need extra support, and find ways to care for your mental and emotional health.
Key topics in this section include:
- Understanding mood changes after birth
- Recognizing baby blues and postpartum depression
- Self-care and coping strategies
- When and how to reach out for help
After birth, shifting hormones, lack of sleep, and the adjustment to caring for a newborn can make your emotions feel overwhelming. It’s common to experience “baby blues” in the first couple of weeks, while some people may face postpartum depression that lasts longer or feels more intense. It’s important to understand the symptoms to look for and know that there are ways to get help.
Mental Health
All Mental Health Resources
Getting Support Resources
Adjusting to life after birth takes time, care, and support. These resources can help you and your loved ones understand how to share responsibilities, care for your emotional health, and create a strong support network during the postpartum period.
Key topics in this section include:
- Ways family and friends can support you after birth
- Tips for partners and support people
- Helping older siblings adjust to a new baby
- Finding community and emotional support
Support after birth looks different for everyone, but having caring people around you can make recovery easier. Loved ones can help by bringing meals, watching older kids, or simply offering encouragement and rest. You can also connect with postpartum doulas, parenting groups, and local programs that provide meals, housing support, and emotional care for you and your family.
BMC Recommended Resources
Getting Support
Ways Your Support Person Can Help
What does support look like after the birth?
Getting Support
Older Siblings: Preparing to Bring Home a New Baby
Bringing home a new baby can be exciting, but also hard. Older siblings may have many big feelings. This is normal. Every child is different, but here are some ideas that can help.
All Getting Support Resources
Physical Health Resources
Your body continues to change and heal after giving birth. These resources can help you recover safely, manage common discomforts, and regain strength at your own pace.
Key topics in this section include:
- Healing and recovery after birth
- Safe birth control options
- Exercise and movement after delivery
- What to expect after a C-section
Recovery looks different for everyone, and your body may need time to heal, adjust, and find a new rhythm. Whether you had a vaginal birth or a C-section, be sure to get the rest and support you need to help feel stronger each day and care for yourself as you care for your new baby.
BMC Recommended Resources
Physical Health
Changes to Your Body After Birth
Your body goes through so many changes after birth. Here are a few things you may feel, and some things you can do to help if you are uncomfortable.
Physical Health
Birth Control After Having a Baby
Summary
Physical Health
Healing After a C-Section
Recovering from a C-section takes time, but there are steps you can take to feel better and heal well. This page offers simple tips—from walking and eating to caring for your scar. Whether you’re still in the hospital or resting at home, these small actions can make a big difference in how you feel.
Physical Health
Pelvic Floor Recovery and Exercising After Birth
Your body went through many changes during pregnancy, and it will take time to heal and feel like yourself again. After pregnancy and birth some people will feel pelvic pressure, have trouble controlling their pee or poop, or feel pain. Pelvic floor exercises can help you heal and get back on track.
