When it comes to postpartum, there is a certain unspoken heaviness that comes with the topic. Many new mothers approach postpartum, hoping to just survive. To make it through without harming your baby, without getting postpartum depression, without losing yourself completely. So we spend a great deal of time talking about these things and how to prevent them. We share statistics and facts about pregnancy and postpartum that do more to raise our anxiety, than anything else. We teach moms what not to do so that they can avoid the negatives that come with postpartum.

However, we don’t spend a lot of time talking about thriving postpartum and what a healthy postpartum can and should look like. Let’s look at the postpartum through a new lense. Rather than avoiding negative experiences and surviving, let’s seek out positive experiences, grow and thrive.

Here are some signs of a healthy postpartum plus how you can start setting up for success during your pregnancy.

1. Giving yourself time to heal.
2. Learning early on what to expect when it comes postpartum, recovery and newborns
3. Putting your physical recovery first.
4. Meeting your basic needs for sleeping, eating and hygiene daily and early on.
5. Making time for regular self care, time to decompress or time work on a hobby.
6. Knowing that it will take for you to fully feel like a parent.
7. Taking time to process your birth and leave feedback for your care providers.
8. Embracing the new sense of self you feel.
9. Involving and leaning on your circle of support. 
10. Strong sense of self confidence or belief in yourself that you can become a good parent.
11. You focus on responding to stress and challenges positively.
12. Connected to your community of social and professional resources. You have a postpartum care team. 
13. You work to replenish your nutrients and eat well for optimal physical recovery.

A healthy postpartum has 3 main focuses: physical recovery, meeting basic needs and maternal development. If you want to have a healthy postpartum, prioritize the birthing parents’ needs in the postpartum and give them time and space to heal and fully develop into a new parent. Whether it’s your first or fifth you deserve this time after each birth.