Yes, resting after having a baby is crucial for both physical and emotional recovery, focusing on sleeping when the baby sleeps, accepting help with chores, eating well, staying hydrated, and limiting visitors to prioritize healing and adjusting to parenthood. Your body needs time to heal from labor and childbirth, so resting, even if it's just lying flat for 30 minutes twice a day, is essential, along with gentle movement like short walks and listening to your body's needs, as recovery takes time.
Prioritize Rest
I always recommend that my clients aim to be “down” more than “up” during the first two weeks. You may have heard of the 5-5-5 rule for postpartum care, which recommends 5 days in bed, 5 days on the bed, and 5 days around the bed.
The hardest weeks with a newborn are typically the first 6 to 8 weeks, marked by extreme sleep deprivation, constant feeding (every 2-3 hours), peak crying (the "witching hour" often starts around 2-3 weeks and peaks at 6 weeks), postpartum recovery for the mother, and learning to interpret the baby's cues, creating significant exhaustion and emotional strain, but it generally gets easier by the three-month mark as babies develop routines and parents adjust.
You should not ignore postpartum symptoms like chest pain, trouble breathing, severe headache with vision changes, heavy bleeding (soaking a pad per hour), fever, severe pain or swelling in one leg, or thoughts of harming yourself or the baby, as these can signal serious issues like hemorrhage, blood clots, preeclampsia, or postpartum depression/psychosis. Seek immediate medical help (call 911 for emergency symptoms) for severe signs, and contact your doctor promptly for persistent or worsening symptoms, even up to a year postpartum.
You Shouldn't Do These 12 Things After Giving Birth
Labor, childbirth and caring for a newborn may introduce you to a new level of exhaustion. Feeling tired for the days and weeks after you give birth is very normal. Trying to rest as much as you can whenever possible will help you feel better.
The first six to 12 hours after you give birth is considered the acute phase of postpartum recovery. Within this window parents are at their highest risk for conditions like postpartum eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, and certain medical emergencies.
If your postnatal bleeding (lochia) gets heavier or changes colour (becomes pink or red) after activity, you could be overdoing it. You're also likely to feel very tired. Listen to your body. Pace yourself and make sure you get plenty of rest too.
The 5-5-5 rule is a postpartum guideline for the first 15 days of recovery, emphasizing rest to help the new parent heal and bond with the baby, by spending 5 days in bed, followed by 5 days on the bed, and then 5 days near the bed, gradually increasing activity while prioritizing rest, nourishment, and self-care over chores or visitors. It's a framework for creating boundaries and slowing down to prevent overexertion, though individual recovery needs should guide the pace.
The four 4's of postpartum hemmorrage refer to the causes, which include: tone (uterine atony), trauma (laceration), tissue (retained placenta), and thrombin (coagulopathies). For operative deliveries, providers should remain alert to ensure they do not miss a laceration.
The 2-hour rule for babies means they shouldn't stay in a car seat (or travel system seat) for more than two hours at a time, whether in or out of the car, because the semi-upright position can strain their developing spine and restrict their breathing, increasing the risk of low oxygen levels, especially for newborns and preemies. For long journeys, parents should take breaks every two hours to take the baby out, allow them to lie flat for a while, stretch, and feed, ensuring they get proper head/neck support and circulation.
Big Kids and Tweens (8 to 9 Years)
It makes sense: This is the age when children's brains and bodies begin to change. Puberty typically starts as early as age 8 for girls and age 9 for boys. 7 As a result, kids this age often feel torn between the little-kid and big-kid worlds.
The 7 key danger signs for newborns, often highlighted by organizations like the WHO, are not feeding well, convulsions, fast breathing, severe chest indrawing, lethargy/unconsciousness (movement only when stimulated), high or low temperature, and jaundice (yellow skin/soles) or signs of local infection like an infected umbilical stump, requiring immediate medical attention.
In those first few weeks postpartum, your cervix is still somewhat dilated, regardless of whether you had a vaginal delivery or a c-section. There's a theory – though no research has confirmed this – that tub water could travel into your uterus, introduce bacteria, and cause an infection.
Adequate rest during the first few weeks after childbirth is essential for both physical healing and mental health. The strong connection between sleep deprivation and postpartum depression and anxiety underscores the need to prioritize rest and self-care.
When to start physical activity. You can do gentle physical activity straight away or as soon as you feel ready after birth. This includes: gentle walking.
The 40-day rule after birth, often called confinement or "The Golden Month," is a widespread cultural tradition emphasizing a mother's deep rest, healing, and bonding with her newborn, with family often handling chores and visitors, promoting physical recovery (like stopping bleeding) and mental well-being, rooted in ancient practices from Asia, Latin America, and religious traditions like Judaism and Christianity. Key aspects involve nourishing the mother, sheltering her from stress, and focusing solely on resting and bonding, a stark contrast to Western pressures to "bounce back" quickly.
There is no hard-and-fast rule for when infants are ready to have visitors or be out in public. Some parents may wait a few months before letting their babies have contact with people outside of the immediate family. Others are okay with visitors and take their babies out to public places much sooner.
On the second night, babies often nurse on and off for hours. Many new parents are caught off guard by this pattern, and some assume that their babies are starving.
In reality, the third week might be the hardest week postpartum, since everything seems to feel “normal,” but so much is happening at the same time. This being said, the third week will be an important week to focus on your mental health.
Keep your back in a neutral position – neither too straight nor too curved. Avoid crossing your legs when sitting, or shifting one hip too far from center when standing. This is especially important while holding your baby.
“We identified two distinct groups, a low maternal sleep group where the mothers get 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night, and an average maternal sleep group, which meets the national recommended sleep guidelines with 7 to 8 hours per night.
It can last a few minutes to a couple of hours. For most babies, the witching hour starts to occur around 2-3 weeks and peaks at 6 weeks. It will typically completely resolve by 3-4 months.
1-3 Months. The first three months with your baby often seem the hardest. Sleep-deprived parents can feel overwhelmed, but that is normal and you will quickly learn how to read your baby's cues and personality. Don't worry about “spoiling” your baby at this stage.
Bleeding that's heavier than a normal period or bleeding that gets worse over time. You may have postpartum hemorrhage (also called PPH). PPH is when a woman has heavy bleeding after giving birth. It's a serious, but rare condition that can happen up to 12 weeks after having a baby.