Supporting our nervous system postpartum is important for mom and baby. Babies don’t have a specific part of their nervous system developed when they are born so they borrow part of ours to thrive. If we are not regulated, it will be very difficult for our children to be regulated. Please do not take this to mean we have to be perfect and regulated all of the time. That’s not possible and probably not healthy. This should encourage and empower us to use the tools we have on hand for when we get out of regulation to bring us back. And pay attention to what helps us feel like the best version of ourselves and what makes us not feel so great. Do more of what makes you feel good! I think that nervous system support can be as simple as that, especially in those early years.
One simple and easy way to support your nervous system postpartum is to aim to honor your needs whenever you can. It is really easy to shut down basic needs like having to pee or poop, being hungry or thirsty, or needing to sit and relax. There are definitely circumstances where you cannot honor these needs right away, but I often find that we tend to put these things off thinking they are not essential when they are. The more we ignore these natural signals from our body and put off honoring them, the more the communication gets fuzzier and fuzzier until we eventually have a hard time hearing it. This has a big impact on our nervous systems. It’s also easy to ignore these signals when we are in a stressed state. Paying attention to your needs as well as your baby’s is a great way to support your nervous system postpartum. When you have to go to the bathroom, go. If you’re hungry or thirsty, get yourself something to eat or drink (or ask a loved one for help). This is one way to stay in tune with your needs, communication from your body, and get out of the fight or flight state.
Once we are full swing in mom mode it can be really hard to slow down. There is always a laundry list of things to get done, which can make it difficult to want to slow down. I often find myself wanting to squeeze just one more thing in, which would then leave less time to relax or do something I enjoy. When you get the urge to slow down, see if you can honor that even if it means sitting for a few minutes. This is another way to keep those lines of communication open and your nervous system from being in chronic fight or flight.
Orienting is a practical tool that you can use throughout the day to check in with yourself. Similar to my previous tip, it helps you keep those lines of communication open with your body. If that communication has already been fuzzy from chronic stress, it helps open it back up again. I learned this practice from Irene Lyon. If you haven’t listened to my podcast interview with her, you can do that here. Orienting is another one of those quick and easy-to-implement tools that I think all moms should know about.
You don’t need to make any adjustments or movements, but if your body is craving it, go for it. Listen to that intuition and what your body is communicating that it needs. And that’s it! You just slowed down and tuned into your body. You can orient for as little as 30-60 seconds during transitions throughout your day or 5-10 minutes.
Outside of trying to meet my needs when I can, orient, and just slow down and be in my body, one other thing I’ve found very helpful during this postpartum season is an herbal blend for the nervous system from Milk Moon Herbs. My friend, Kim, (@rootandbranchnutrition on IG) gifted me their postpartum tonic after I had my first daughter. I went to go purchase it again for this postpartum and saw they had a bunch of herbal tinctures. They all sounded amazing and luckily they have a kit where you can purchase them all. I did and I literally used every single one except for one blend during the fourth trimester. I still love the nervous system blend called “No Worries” for times when I’m feeling stressed and having a hard time getting out of fight or flight. It was especially helpful for me in the first 3 weeks postpartum. I had a hard time not being with Eliana 24/7 and having my husband take over a lot of her care so I could take care of Amaia. I felt very stressed about our relationship and how things were shifting and the herbal blend brought me back down from mental spirals. So what’s inside this amazing blend? Here’s a description from their website:
“Milky oat: As a nervous and endocrine system restorative, fresh milky oat tops provide the ultimate nourishment when you’re edgy, frazzled and near burnout.
Skullcap: Another excellent nervous system restorative, skullcap is a perfect ally for times when you are overstimulated, touched out, and at the end of your rope.
Motherwort, or “mother’s herb”: Is said to impart a sense of courage and confidence in mothers, and ease feelings of overwhelm and self doubt. With an affinity for the heart, it is especially useful for those who experience heart palpitations in anxious moments.
Passionflower: This lush, climbing vine with striking purple flowers helps clear the mind of circular thinking and negative mental chatter, without being too sedating for daytime use.”
All of their herbal blends are safe for breastfeeding as well. I can’t recommend them enough! I often gift silverettes to my friends who become new moms but these tinctures were so helpful for me I’m going to start gifting them too.
Here is another great podcast episode you may enjoy that is all about thriving in postpartum!
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