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New mother, you are not alone.

Fresh baby in arms, body feeling run ragged and sore, exhausted but in love, so happy but so so many other feelings as well.

With how we treat new mothers in our society, it is so easy and common for them to feel a frightening mix of emotions. So often the focus on how quickly the mother recovers and “gets her body back” but the truth is she doesn’t get it back. She has a new body. A body that created life and birthed it.

If you just had your first baby, you also just gave birth to yourself as a mother.

Your entire world will never be the same.

And not just your daily habits, but the thoughts you have, the way you speak to others, the feelings you have about yourself and the world around you.

Everything is different. Shifted. Seen in a new light.

This time can be confusing, frustrating, and scary, especially without a tribe or community of loved ones there to support you. Just knowing that you are not the only one who feels this way may help. Just to hear that you are not alone.

You, freshly born, new mother, are not alone in this world.

Mellinia of new mothers have come before you and walked this path.

Your body is doing exactly what it needs to do, you just need to support it with rest and nourishing foods.

Your body has an innate knowledge of how to make milk, care for your baby, and heal itself.

Your baby has a deep ancestral knowledge to know how to signal for care and how to breastfeed.

Knowing this helped me. It also helped to reach out to another newish mother who was willing to listen without judgment. I could share all my thoughts, fears, and ask for advice. Even if it is a friend online who has a supportive listening ear who doesn’t make you feel criticized. It is important to be heard during this time.

Hopefully, you find that person. And it’s okay if that person shifts. Maybe one week it is your partner, another it is a friend, and the next it is your own mother.

As long as it is someone to help you process all the changes, emotions, and big feelings that come up. Someone who helps you feel loved, supported at an emotional level, and nourished deep down to your soul.

Kayla Levine is the owner and Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist at Tucson Placenta Encapsulation and Nourishing Her. After having her baby at home in 2016 she encapsulated her own placenta and developed a deep love for all things 4th trimester including changing the status quo and unhealthy cultural norms. Read her story of overcoming depression, having a 30 hour home birth, and then going through a divorce when her son was only a year old.