After five articles exploring maternal health in America, one question remains: what can families do while the healthcare system continues to debate how to improve outcomes? In this final installment, postpartum nurse Kirsten Fisch examines what the evidence is telling us, why support and connection matter more than ever, and the practical steps pregnant families can take to advocate for their own safety, recovery, and care.
Category: Postpartum
Everything Postpartum
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How We Care for Mothers
After exploring maternal health outcomes, funding programs, and healthcare policy, one question remains: What actually helps mothers and babies thrive? In Part 4 of the *How We Care for Mothers* series, we examine the evidence behind some of the most promising approaches, from community doulas and continuity of care to telehealth and expanded postpartum support, and what families can learn from them.
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Preparing for Postpartum: What Every Woman Deserves to Know
Postpartum wellbeing is deeply influenced by physical recovery, including factors like blood loss and iron levels. Yet most preparation focuses on birth, not recovery. This article explores what women need to know to better understand and navigate the early postpartum period.
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Should You Pump Right Away? Understanding the “Wait to Pump” Advice
If pumping can help build supply, why are so many parents told to wait? Here’s what’s really happening in those early days, and how to approach feeding in a way that supports both you and your baby.
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Beyond ‘Breast Is Best’: How Breastfeeding Guidance Can Empower Instead of Pressure
Infant feeding is a deeply personal decision shaped by biology, mental health, work realities, cultural context, relationship dynamics, and lived experience. No two situations are the same.
When we treat breastfeeding as the only acceptable outcome rather than one well-supported option among several, we stop practicing patient-centered care. We start practicing a kind of soft coercion dressed up in clinical language, and the people on the receiving end know the difference, even when they can’t name it.
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Postpartum at Home: Finding Rhythm in the Chaos
Bringing your baby home is one of the most anticipated moments of pregnancy—but what happens next can feel anything but predictable. You might imagine cozy…
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Postpartum Must-Haves: What You Actually Need (And What You Don’t)
If you’re getting ready to have your baby, you might be wondering… What do I really need to bring to the hospital?Do I need to…
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“Unusual” Doesn’t Mean “Unimportant”: Trusting Your Body After Birth
Most postpartum recovery is normal, until it’s not. Here’s why paying attention to your body and advocating for unusual symptoms can make all the difference in your recovery after birth.
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When “It’s Probably Nothing” Isn’t Nothing: A Postpartum Reminder to Listen to Your Body
Two weeks after giving birth to her baby girl, Lena was adjusting to life as a new mom—sleep-deprived, healing, and navigating that foggy space between…
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Postpartum Recovery: What No One Tells You About the Timeline
So many mothers spend their pregnancy counting down the days—especially in those final weeks. By the time 38 or 39 weeks rolls around, you’re exhausted,…