Sophie Walker is the founder of Australian Birth Stories, the number-one podcast for birth and postpartum advice and an online education hub offering support and guidance from pre-conception through to the first 12 months. She has a master's degree in public health, is a mum of three and is passionate about empowering women on their journey into motherhood. Jodi Wilson is a bestselling author, yoga teacher and postpartum doula. Her work has been published in the Guardian and ABC and she writes two weekly newsletters on substack. She lives in Tasmania with her partner and their four children.
able Of Contents:
About the Podcast
Introduction
Daily Habits for Pregnancy and Postpartum
CHAPTER 1: PLANNING FOR POSTPARTUM
What is Postpartum?
Planning a Positive Postpartum
Traditional Cultural Postpartum Care
Your Postpartum Needs
Postpartum for Teens
Your Postpartum Checklist
Planning for Postpartum with a Rainbow Baby
CHAPTER 2: BIRTH RECOVERY
Normal Symptoms in the First Few Days and Weeks
Recovery Pain
Blood Loss
Postnatal Depletion
Vaginal Birth Recovery
Caesarean Birth Recovery
Pelvic Floor Recovery
Body Neutrality
CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST SIX WEEKS – AT A GLANCE
Frequently Asked Questions
Maternal Warning Signs
Newborn Warning Signs
The Golden Hour
The Baby Blues
The Baby Pinks
Birth Debrief
Birth Trauma
Postpartum for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Parents
Postpartum After Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Postpartum After Baby Loss
The Six-Week Check
When Will My Period Return?
Sex After Birth
CHAPTER 4: THE FOURTH TRIMESTER
The Maternal Brain
The Neurodivergent Brain
A Mindset of Surrender
What is Matrescence?
Normal Postpartum Emotions
Maternal Ambivalence – The Push and Pull of Motherhood
Maternal Loneliness
Guilt vs Shame
Intrusive Thoughts
The Maternal Heart
Essential Care in the Fourth Trimester
The Mental Load of Motherhood and Managing Overwhelm
CHAPTER 5: POSTPARTUM MENTAL HEALTH
The Importance of Support in Postpartum Mental Health
The Spectrum of Postpartum Emotions
Perinatal Anxiety and Depression (PAD)
What to Expect at a Mother and Baby Unit
How Singing Can Help You and Your Baby
CHAPTER 6: MILK
Breastfeeding
Alternative Feeding
CHAPTER 7: SLEEP
All Sleep is Beneficial
The Continuum of Sleep
Sleep Safety
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Normal Infant Biological Sleep
How Much Do Babies Sleep?
Sleep Vocabulary
Sleep Training
My Baby Isn't Sleeping!
Returning to Work
Acknowledgements
Resources
Notes
Index
