Postpartum Rest Is Important: Here’s Why You Should Schedule Yours

When you want an amazing vacation, you seek out the best views and strategically pack your suitcase. When you want a date, you hire a babysitter, make reservations, and you can even put on cute underwear. When you’re about to have a baby, there are also plans for a shower and a “birth plan,” but planning for your fourth trimester usually seems to be forgotten. Why do we neglect the fourth trimester when it is such a crucial time for recovery, rest and bonding with our new little ones? Overall, the fourth trimester, which is considered a crucial and well-deserved milestone by women around the world, is overlooked in Western culture. In general, we have excruciating rates of postpartum mood disorders, pelvic floor issues, and exhausted mothers trying to do it all. This provides a compelling reason to delve deeper into the importance of rest and recovery during this crucial time.

I would say that most people don’t understand the concept of the “fourth trimester” or the first twelve weeks postpartum. Yes, we know that, generally speaking, there will be a short season of wearing adult diapers and ice packs. But the pace of life seems to continue, adult diapers or not.

The new American mom makes an appearance whenever she can in the main living room, putting on makeup and visiting with friends and family outside as they eagerly arrive to meet the new baby. This mother begins to receive visitors while the laundry piles up next to her. The baby is passed around among friends and family and eventually, that mom finds herself cleaning up after meals, caring for older children, and ultimately returning to normal life and productivity. How come this was considered normal postpartum in America? How come no one told me that resting and bonding with my baby for several weeks was important enough to plan for?

Women in the rest of the world seem to do something completely different during their fourth trimester. Malaysian women practice confinement after childbirth, where they are freed from household chores, rest in bed, eat only nourishing foods prepared by others for them, practice specific hygiene practices, and learn how to care of their newborn. Chinese and Indian women are encouraged to rest for 30 days and are freed from their normal duties and responsibilities (Raven, et al. 2007). Many Thai women practice childbirth and are intentionally cared for by family members for 30 days after giving birth. In China, most women use a Pei Yue or an experienced woman who supports the new mother for a month after the birth of her child. The Pei Yue is responsible for the cooking and physical care of the mother and other children during the confinement period. Zuo Yue (Or at-yueh-tzu in Taiwan), commonly known as “doing the month”, is a month-long period of rest during which extended family helps mothers promote healing and allow “loose” bones to return to their previous position. Among Mexican women, there is a 40-day rest period known as quarantine which promotes the bond between the newborn and focuses attention on lactation. There are similar data on intentional postpartum rest among Amish, Japanese, Hmong, Malay, East Indian, and South African women. You understand, don’t you? Most Americans don’t prioritize postpartum rest.

Unlike in the United States, the postpartum period is often considered a period of rapid return to normal function before delivery. During this time, medical attention quickly shifts from caring for the woman to feeding and caring for the infant. What happens to the mother? Often, maternal symptoms during postpartum recovery are under-recognized and overlooked.

Why is rest important? After a baby is born, the placenta, or baby’s vital organ, detaches from inside the uterus. What’s left is a large open wound the size of the placenta inside the uterus. Did you have a cesarean? We are now talking about abdominal surgery, separating six layers of the abdominal and uterine wall. Is rest necessary? Oh, indeed.

I have welcomed five babies over the years: one through foster care, two through adoption, and two through delivery. Each season of welcoming our newborn into the family was different but sacred. Viewing the fourth quarter season as sacred implies deserved reverence or a significant pause for weight and recognition. The fourth trimester deserves this kind of emotional and physical break from the daily rhythms normally experienced.

I have a child who is obsessed with animals. Let’s play his favorite game. Can you imagine a mother mammal? Lion, tiger or bear (oh my God). What are they doing with their new baby? They feed and spend time with it. Peaceful. Many attachment theories promote the concept of “nesting” in which parents create a barrier of security around their new child by slowing down the pace of life, protecting concentration, and promoting bonding between primary caregivers and their children. children.

Before my last delivery, my midwife intentionally had me plan for postpartum rest. I looked at her like she had a third eye because I have three other children. How the hell am I going to rest? And yet she persisted. She had me sit down with my husband and plan specifically for my fourth trimester. In the end, my husband took seven days off to come home with the “big three.” And me? I went to bed. I took sitz baths. Treated on demand. I looked at my baby. I ate nourishing meals prepared by incredible family and friends. I created a peaceful space so I could get to know my new baby and how to care for him. Guess what? My postpartum bleeding ended in just a week. I recently spoke with a mother of three in her 50s. She told me she bled until her daughter was over six months old. It was up to him to get back to life as quickly as possible. My heart broke for her.

Not everyone has a partner to help with household chores and look after older children. And without the willingness of family or friends to step in and help the new mom get to know her baby and rest, there may be an equally alternative option of hiring a postpartum doula for a short season. Ultimately, celebrating the birth of a child is about so much more than just spending two days in a hospital bed. It’s about creating a postpartum space to tend to the state of a woman’s soul to allow for healing and intentional focus on the mother-child bond. Now plan it.

The references

Fadzil, F., Shamsuddin, K. and Wan Puteh, SE (2016). Traditional postpartum practices among Malaysian mothers: a review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 22(7), 503-508.

Maloni, J.A. and Park, S. (2005). Postpartum symptoms after antepartum bed rest. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 34(2), 163-171.

Albers, 2000; Brown and Lumley, 1998; Glazener et al., 1995; Thompson, Roberts, Currie and Ellwood, 2002). Maloni, J.A. and Park, S. (2005).

Raven, JH, Chen, Q., Tolhurst, RJ, & Garner, P. (2007). Traditional beliefs and practices during the postpartum period in Fujian Province, China: a qualitative study. Pregnancy and childbirth BMC, 78. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-7-8

Kaewsarn, P., Moyle, W. and Creedy, D. (2003). Traditional postpartum practices among Thai women. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 41(4), 358-366. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02534.x
Karimi, FZ, Abdollahi, M., Khadivzadeh, T. and Yas, A. (2024). Investigating the effect of kangaroo mother care on mother-infant attachment: a systematic review and meta-analysis study. Current Reviews on Women’s Health, 20(2), 50-60.