A Brave New World: 4th Trimester Family Care
We tend to know much more about pregnancy and birth than about what happens after our babies are born. Birth is a profound process, but it is also merely a doorway into a new world. What happens to our body in the weeks and months after birth? How do our relationships change? How can we and our partners/families be supported through these changes? When and who do we call for help?
Preparation and community support profoundly impacts the health + adjustment of parent and baby, and the entire family’s emotional well-being during these precious and challenging early months. Spend an afternoon with your partner or support people to explore simple but effective tools to help you know better what to expect, and create an effective support plan for the first 3 months after birth.
PLEASE NOTE: This class focuses on family care, but does not cover newborn care or breastfeeding.
Explore a sample class meditation audio recording and more resources for the 4th trimester.
©Lisa Gendron | Agroterra Birth
SYLLABUS
Inverted Classroom:
2 hour Pre-Class Video: Physical + Emotional Changes After Birth
Postpartum Safety Awareness
- When to Call the Doctor/Midwife or Ambulance
Normal Postpartum Bleeding + Cramping
- Locia + Involution of the Uterus
Perineum + Pelvic Floor Care
- Supporting Perineal Healing
- Special Care if You Have Stitches
- Exercises for Pelvic Health
- When to See a Physical Therapist
Breast Health + Comfort
- Strategies for Easing Common Challenges
Elimination After Birth
- Blood, Sweat, Pee + Poop. . . All the Scoop
Hygiene + Bathing
- Safe Bathing In the Hours + Days After Birth
Structural Health + Exercise
- Start S_l_o_w_l_y
- Build the Core, Then More
- Resuming Pre-Pregnancy Exercise
Cesarean Recovery
- Early Hours, Days + Weeks
- Supporting Scar + Movement Health
Mental + Emotional Family Health
- Healthy Matrescence + Patrescence
- Normal Baby Blues
- Treating Anxiety, Depression, OCD
- Recognizing Postpartum Psychosis
- Accessing Supports + Community Help
IN CLASS:
Health is For All of Us – Family as Ecosystem
Tending to Challenge/Trauma in Birth
The Big Transformation: A Right of Passage
Creating a 4th Trimester Plan
- Changing Identities + Care for the Self
- Changing Relationships / Care for Partnership
- Changing Sexuality + Intimacy After Birth
- Changing Roles at Home + Work
- Managing Boundaries + Visitors
Key Principles of a Supported Family:
- The Medicine of Deep Rest/Laying In
- The Medicine of Food + Warmth
- The Medicine of Community
- The Medicine of Nature
Sleep for the Whole Family
- Understanding Normal Newborn Sleep
- Family Sleep Planning
Professional Support + Referrals
©Susie Finnerty
We are soaking her up all we can. I wanted to thank you for the information you taught us in our course. I have had anxiety and depression my whole life and was terrified for the postpartum period. . . I’m very grateful for all that you taught my husband and I to make this as smooth of a transition as possible. I feel that your lessons helped my husband understand what birth and new motherhood is like and he has been incredibly helpful and supportive. Without the support from him and the midwives I do not think I would be feeling as great as I do.
Family Voices +Guided Meditation
Additional Workshops
PRACTITIONER TESTIMONIAL
I have worked as a physical therapist with a focus in prenatal/postpartum care and pelvic floor dysfunction for the past 20 years. It is important to know that when you refer your patients to other practitioners, that they will receive knowledgeable, compassionate, and skilled care. Kaeli Sutton has been the person that I turn to for the 17 years for supportive care for my patients. She has dedicated her time and effort to being the best doula, prenatal yoga/postpartum yoga instructor, childbirth educator, and massage therapist. Kaeli is committed to ongoing research in the field of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, parenting and infant development. She is highly skilled as an educator and massage therapist, and this is apparent in my patients experiences and outcomes after her treatments. The services that Kaeli provides through Open Circle are a necessary and essential part of supporting all people during prenatal, birth, and postpartum care. – Kristina Fitzgerald, LATC, MSPT, DPT, PRPC, Certified Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner