Hayley Begner
Hayley is a mother of 4, Hypnobirthing and Birth Ed teacher. She is the creator of The Radical Hypnobirthing programme which runs self paced online and one to one courses and coaching. She also works with women in the postpartum period.
You can find Hayley @ @naked_birth
HOW WAS YOUR POSTPARTUM EXPERIENCE?
My last postpartum time was with baby number 4, and postpartum planning featured heavily as part of my overall birth plan. By the forth baby I had finally learned that unless it is planned it won't happen! This meant my postpartum time was much more easeful and enjoyable than previous ones (especially my first one) as I had accounted for everything I knew I would want and need.
WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING?
The most challenging part was probably initially feeling confident enough to say that I wanted this time to be respected. I knew other people or family members wouldn't understand the importance and requirements of healing and resting during the first weeks after birth. The actual challenge during the time ended up being torn with other older children wanting and needing you.
IF YOU WERE TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY, WHAT LESSONS DID YOU TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE?
If I was to do it again I probably would incorporate more body work in the early days, and also extend my rest period by another week. I probably got 2 full weeks of living in pjs and not leaving the house, but I found once I had gotten dressed and ventured out it was hard to fall back into slowing down again and I think others around me then expected me to be back to all systems go!
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 TOP TIPS THAT YOU WOULD PASS ON TO MOTHERS SOON TO BE POSTPARTUM?
My 3 top tips would be...
1- Make your postpartum plan AS big if not bigger than your birth plan.
2- Write down all the things you are responsible for on a daily basis in the house and outside the house and see what you can outsource.
3- Never start your postpartum journey without having substantial nourishment stores in place, whether that’s a freezer full of food, a meal train or a food doula!
“ADVICE ON BLEEDING:
”My one piece of advice on bleeding would be... keep plastic pads and synthetic fibres away from your yoni. Stay in bed (for at least a week) on a towel that you can change (dark colours are obviously easier to wash out). Another week on the bed, again on towels. and then when you start to venture out use as natural fibres as you can to let that area breathe. Herbal sits bath can reduce bleeding but I don’t think that’s the aim. I think the aim is to let your body do it’s thing. If your bleeding kicks back up a notch when you start to be upright more then it’s a clear signal that you’ve done too much and should be back in bed! By following this it means you might want to limit visitors to those that you feel closest to, keep baby skin to skin in bed with you and actually this is a great thing for breastfeeding success as well!”