Is it supposed to be this hard? It's a question all new mothers ask.

The moment after birthing your baby, you enter postpartum. It's the blurriest of transitions – there's joy and awe but also intense physical recovery, fluctuating hormones, a brain that can't find the right words, and so much to learn. It's beautiful and it's hard.

The Complete Guide to Postpartum is your comforting and enlightening guide to navigating this entirely new life, from the earliest moments post-birth to many years later. Full of expert advice, mothers' stories, and evidence-based information that will guide you into motherhood with confidence.

This illustrated companion includes:

• Your postpartum checklist
• The fourth trimester
• Mental health
• Hormones
• The pelvic floor
• Postpartum with your partner
• Feeding
• Sleep
• Taking care of yourself and boosting your confidence
• Trusted postpartum resources

Sophie Walker is the founder of Australian Birth Stories, the number-one podcast for birth and postpartum advice and an online education hub offering support and guidance from pre-conception through to the first 12 months. She has a master's degree in public health, is a mum of three and is passionate about empowering women on their journey into motherhood.

Jodi Wilson is a writer, doula, prenatal yoga teacher and mother of four. She is the author of Practising Simplicity as well as co-author, with Sophie Walker, of the number-one selling Australian pregnancy and birth guide, The Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy & Birth and The Complete Guide to Postpartum.

  able Of Contents:
About the Podcast
Introduction
Daily Habits for Pregnancy and Postpartum

CHAPTER 1: PLANNING FOR POSTPARTUM
What is Postpartum?
Planning a Positive Postpartum
Traditional Cultural Postpartum Care
Your Postpartum Needs
Postpartum for Teens
Your Postpartum Checklist
Planning for Postpartum with a Rainbow Baby

CHAPTER 2: BIRTH RECOVERY
Normal Symptoms in the First Few Days and Weeks
Recovery Pain
Blood Loss
Postnatal Depletion
Vaginal Birth Recovery
Caesarean Birth Recovery
Pelvic Floor Recovery
Body Neutrality

CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST SIX WEEKS – AT A GLANCE
Frequently Asked Questions
Maternal Warning Signs
Newborn Warning Signs
The Golden Hour
The Baby Blues
The Baby Pinks
Birth Debrief
Birth Trauma
Postpartum for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Parents
Postpartum After Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Postpartum After Baby Loss
The Six-Week Check
When Will My Period Return?
Sex After Birth

CHAPTER 4: THE FOURTH TRIMESTER
The Maternal Brain
The Neurodivergent Brain
A Mindset of Surrender
What is Matrescence?
Normal Postpartum Emotions
Maternal Ambivalence – The Push and Pull of Motherhood
Maternal Loneliness
Guilt vs Shame
Intrusive Thoughts
The Maternal Heart
Essential Care in the Fourth Trimester
The Mental Load of Motherhood and Managing Overwhelm

CHAPTER 5: POSTPARTUM MENTAL HEALTH
The Importance of Support in Postpartum Mental Health
The Spectrum of Postpartum Emotions
Perinatal Anxiety and Depression (PAD)
What to Expect at a Mother and Baby Unit
How Singing Can Help You and Your Baby

CHAPTER 6: MILK
Breastfeeding
Alternative Feeding

CHAPTER 7: SLEEP
All Sleep is Beneficial
The Continuum of Sleep
Sleep Safety
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Normal Infant Biological Sleep
How Much Do Babies Sleep?
Sleep Vocabulary
Sleep Training
My Baby Isn't Sleeping!
Returning to Work

Acknowledgements
Resources
Notes
Index