By Jess Schembri
If you’re like me and hadn’t actually heard of postnatal depletion until recently, then you absolutely have to read on and do your pregnant and mama friends a favour and share this post with them today.
Since giving birth to my first daughter in December of 2011 I’ve made it my personal mission to become more in charge and aware of my health. Wellbeing, fitness and overall health has been a top priority of mine since becoming a mum and I believe that there is absolutely so much to be said in terms of the importance of good quality nutrition. This is why I created Fit Mumma’s Club and why I am so passionate about helping other achieve their best level of health also.
Check out this recent blog post I created all about the subject here….
In light of my next bub arriving within the next few weeks, I’ve been spending even more time preparing for birth and beyond second time around. While working with so many other mums helping them get their fitness and pre-baby bodies back I often hear the same feedback… I’m tired, I’ve got low energy, I can’t keep my eyes open, I feel like I’m suffering PND, this baby has sucked the life out of me! All typical responses that I think we are just so used to hearing and so used to just accepting as part of becoming a mum.
But you know what… have you ever really stopped to consider how much of a toll creating a human being can take on your body? As mothers we are so devoted and committed to being the best mums we can be and I feel like often, in the pursuit of this we stop caring about ourselves. We don’t realise that we are in fact depleted both physically and emotionally after giving birth and we need to place bigger importance on our health during pregnancy and postnatally.
In this article (click here to read) it talks about how postnatal depletion can actually take YEARS to recover from. It seems that postnatal depletion is seldom talked about but I honestly feel that we all need to take a closer look. From this post it states, “Dr Serrallach says many women struggle to recover hormonally, nutritionally, and emotionally after the birth of a baby. ‘What I typically find in my post-birth mothers is that they often have low levels of key nutrients including iron, zinc, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B9, iodine, and selenium stores-along with omega 3 fats like DHA and overall low protein stores,’ says Dr Serrallach.”
Being that our brains are mostly made up of fat, has it ever occurred to you that supplementation in this area is required to boost your brain function every day, but more importantly while pregnant and beyond?
Being that our brains are mostly made up of fat, has it ever occurred to you that supplementation in this area is required to boost your brain function every day, but more importantly while pregnant and beyond? Dr Serrallach also says he has no doubt that having postnatal depletion increases your chances of getting postnatal depression. Now that’s even more scary. After birth, the focus almost always goes from mum to bub and I think that’s where we are missing some key considerations. Where is all the education about how new mums need to be looking after themselves?
See next page for some helpful nutritional tips for new mums…
