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Building Your Village – Strategies To Thrive During Your Postpartum Period

Birth Preparation

Finding Support, through the absence of a Village…

Calmbirth are pioneers in childbirth education recognising the connection in birth between the mind and body, focussing on the emotional and psychological journey of couples through their pregnancy, labour, birth and the post partum period ever since our inception in 2004. We have been changing birth culture one family at a time and plan to for many generations to come.

Up until now, the fourth trimester or otherwise known as the postpartum period was seldom talked about. Today, this post partum period has been recognised as crucial not only for the healthy development of the baby, but also for the healing of the mother after birth and the transition to parenthood for both mother and father/partner alike.

This is why we are collaborating with experts in the field of perinatal mental health and wellbeing to continue to offer support and confidence to new parents who may be feeling challenged or even overwhelmed with the complexities and emotional journey that becoming new parents brings. We are working together with Rachel Bridge, a psychologist and author who shares our passion and values in supporting families on their postpartum journey by providing much needed resources and strategies to cope during this very fragile time in a new parent’s life.

Rachel is a Psychologist who has been passionately working with children and their families for ten plus years. She has worked in Out-Of-Home-Care, early intervention with at risk children and families, as a coordinator developing a Child Mental Health program focusing on providing an innovative family focused approach to therapy with young children and as a clinician for different organizations and services in the areas of Perinatal Mental Health, Child & Family Psychology. 

A message from Rachel to ALL our Calmbirth families.

As a mother and Perinatal, Child & Family Psychologist, I am thrilled to be able to help shape the future of families by collaborating with Calmbirth and providing much needed resources to families beginning or continuing to navigate this often mysterious journey of parenting.

As a professional in the field of mental and emotional well-being, I will be honest in saying that I felt confident and mostly prepared as I entered into this journey called motherhood.  As a psychologist who works with mums and dads during pregnancy and early parenthood, I empathise, support and guide parents through the ups and the downs of this rollercoaster ride.  Almost six years ago, I took a step into the early days of parenthood, and found myself in a place of wonder, uncertainty, love and mystery.

As a Mum and a psychologist in the field, one thing is true, the absence of support to guide parents into and through the normal adjustments that come along with bringing a baby into the world, are few and far between.

  • Helping to prepare parents for the emotional adjustments of self and relationship is crucial to the wellbeing and mental health of parents and their infants in the time following birth. 
  • Working to engage helpful and available supports during what is known as the ‘fourth trimester’ is crucial to the wellbeing and mental health of parents and their infants.   
  • And helping to manage expectations and educate on what the research advises us is ‘developmentally normal’ infant behavior is also crucial to the wellbeing and mental health of parents and their infants.

This partnership and collaboration with Calmbirth is an extension of the village that parents need during the fourth trimester and beyond. 

I would love to share with fellow mothers and fathers and partners, my real experiences on learning to cope with the emotional change of self that comes along with becoming a mama to the most incredible little beings.  As well as the knowledge gained through my learning and practice as a therapeutic clinician in the area.

Through the offering of resources, articles and blogs, it is our hope to further the support and guidance you receive around the birth of your baby, into the early, and oh so important days, weeks, and months that follow.

We would like to invite you to please share with us, what you would like to hear and read about. So please, if you have questions, thoughts, past experiences that you would like us to focus on, share your suggestions by emailing us at [email protected]

 

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