Supportive & Compassionate Care
Nourishing Postpartum Support:
The birth of your baby marks the beginning of the Fourth Trimester—a sacred and vital period often overlooked in modern care. Postpartum support at Atlantic Body Care is designed to "Mother the Mother," providing you with the nourishment, rest, and guidance necessary for deep physical and emotional healing.
This is not a time to "bounce back" but a time to bond, recover, and establish your new rhythm. I step in as your non-judgmental guide, blending traditional wisdom with practical, hands-on assistance.
Food as Medicine for Recovery
My culinary background informs the heart of my postpartum care. Recovery from childbirth, whether vaginal or surgical, demands specific nutrients. Strong planning to feed your body & family so you can heal, allowing you to feed your baby and both parents can focus on bonding.
Healing Meals & Broths: Preparing nutrient-dense, easy-to-digest, warm meals and nourishing broths that aid in blood replenishment, tissue repair, and milk production.
"Freezer Stash" Planning: We will work together prenatally to stock your freezer with ready-to-heat, healing meals, ensuring that you and your partner can focus on your newborn, not on cooking.
Lactation Support: Offering culinary tips and recipes for galactagogues (foods that support milk supply) and ensuring you maintain optimal hydration and energy levels.
Yoga & Movement: Gentle Restoration
Physical recovery takes time, and my yoga expertise is utilized to support your body's return to strength gently and mindfully:
Restorative Postures: Guiding you through gentle, supported movements to alleviate tension, manage post-birth discomfort, and promote relaxation.
Diastasis Recti Awareness: Providing initial guidance on safe movements and exercises to support core healing and avoid strain.
Mindful Self-Care Rituals: Helping you incorporate simple breathwork and meditation practices that can be done in short bursts, helping to combat sleep deprivation and manage the emotional intensity of new parenthood.
Practical & Emotional Nurturing
Beyond food and movement, my support is focused on lightening your load and holding space for your emotional journey:
Newborn Care Guidance: Providing evidence-based information and hands-on demonstrations for bathing, diapering, soothing techniques, and establishing healthy sleep habits (not sleep training) based on infant cues.
Household Support: Assisting with chores like laundry, tidying, and dishes so you can truly rest.
Emotional Processing: Offering a confidential, listening ear to process your birth experience, navigate the emotional highs and lows, and discuss concerns regarding new adjustments. I am trained to identify signs of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) and provide referrals to trusted local mental health professionals.
Resource Connection: Connecting your family with local resources, including specialized lactation consultants, pelvic floor physical therapists, parent groups, and other community supports.
Comprehe-nsive Prenatal Education:
Knowledge & confidence is power, especially when preparing for birth.
At Atlantic Body Care, my prenatal education goes beyond basic hospital classes, offering a personalized, in-depth approach to help you and your partner feel truly prepared, informed, and confident for labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period.
This education is designed to demystify the birth process and empower you to be an active participant in your care and decision-making.
What We Explore Together
My sessions are flexible and tailored to your specific needs and interests, drawing on evidence-based practices and my holistic background:
The Stages of Labor: Understand the physiological progression of birth, what to expect, and when to call your care provider or doula.
Comfort Measures & Coping Techniques: Learn and practice a range of both medical & non-pharmacological pain management tools, including breathing exercises (pranayama) influenced by my yoga background, positioning, massage, hydrotherapy, and visualization.
Informed Consent & Advocacy: Discuss common medical interventions, pain relief options (epidurals, etc.), and how to effectively communicate your preferences and make choices that align with your values.
Partner's Role: Equip your support person with practical skills—from counter-pressure to emotional coaching—so they feel like an invaluable, active member of the birth team.
Postpartum & Newborn Basics: Get practical tips on the "fourth trimester," including basic newborn care, feeding (chest/breast/bottle), and a full spectrum plan for postpartum changes.
Yoga for Pregnancy and Birth Endurance
Drawing on my experience as a certified yoga instructor, we focus on functional movement that directly supports a comfortable and effective labor:
Optimal Fetal Positioning (OFP): Learning specific daily movements and stretches to encourage your baby into the best position for birth, potentially reducing labor time and intensity.
Labor Rehearsal: Practicing active birth positions (squatting, lunging, using the birth ball) and connecting them with effective breathwork, allowing your body to build muscle memory and confidence. This helps transform anxiety into physical readiness.
Deep Relaxation Techniques: Developing the capacity for profound rest and stillness, which is essential for conserving energy during a long labor and managing the intensity of contractions.
Building Your Village
Discussing how to clearly communicate your need for support to friends and family, often revolving around food and rest, setting boundaries so you can truly focus on bonding.
Invest in your peace of mind. By blending essential birth knowledge with practical, holistic techniques, I help you approach your birth journey with clarity and calm.