You hear it from every corner after giving birth:

“Just rest.”
“Sleep when the baby sleeps.”
“Take it easy.”

But, as essential as it is,  rest doesn’t come easy for most mamas these days. 

The village we once had doesn't look the same anymore. We might have online friends and supportive groups to turn to, but who is offering to hold the baby while you sleep or tend to the bodily wounds birth left you with. How do you fully heal your body when you're expected back to work so quickly?

Whether it's the to-do list, the crying baby, the wired but tired feeling, or in my case cleaning the house top to bottom and moving into a new one 6 weeks c-section (don't recommend it by the way), rest can seem unattainable at times.

The Myth of Doing Nothing

When we think of rest, we often imagine stillness. But postpartum rest isn’t about doing nothing, it’s about creating safety for your body and mind to repair.

That might look like:

• Eating warm food slowly without multitasking.

• Letting the laundry sit one more day.

• Saying “not today” to visitors who drain your energy.

• Letting your body be the miraculous marvel it is, without rushing to try to "bounce back".

• Trusting that whoever you hand your baby to, so you can take a shower, has got it.

• Accepting and honoring your birth experience, even if it didn't go how you planned it.

Healing in postpartum is active work. It’s your body rebuilding tissue, balancing hormones, replenishing blood, and recalibrating an entire system that just grew and birthed life.

Support for the Nervous System

Many postpartum moms live in a state of quiet alert -  heart racing, mind scanning for every baby sound. Even when you lie down, your body doesn’t trust it’s safe to relax.

This is why rest feels like work: your nervous system is still running the show.

Homeopathic support can be beautiful here:

• Coffea cruda for when your mind won’t switch off and you feel wired yet exhausted, craving quiet but unable to rest.

• Aconite for when your whole system is in shock or sudden fear, as if your body hasn’t caught up with what just happened.

• Ignatia when grief, overwhelm, or emotional tension keep catching in your throat and you can’t seem to release the sigh.

• Kali Phos - a wonderful nerve tonic for mental fatigue, low mood, and over-stimulation, helping restore calm energy.

• Mag Phos for tension and cramping that ease with warmth and gentle relaxation, soothing the body’s tight grip.

Rest does not have to be earned. You don't have to seek permission to let a few things slide while you focus on healing your body and your mind after birth. Healing doesn't always look productive.  Choose gentleness in how you speak to yourself, close your eyes for five deep breaths between feeds. Tell your body that it's safe.

Your task is to listen to what your body needs. 

Grab my free birth recovery guide HERE. This guide will walk you through how you can support your physical recovery to move through healing at a pace that works for your body and how you can support your mind and emotions with grace for your experience.

And if you need a helping hand to guide you through your symptoms, please book a free no-obligation discovery call.

Leah