How Dads Can Help, Support, and Take Care of Mothers After Birth

Being a new parent is a special as well as a tough phase of life. You will come across several challenges and responsibilities as a father. However, along with the responsibilities as a father, your responsibilities as a husband will also shift to a new level. So, it is better to get prepared ahead of time.

The time after birth is very crucial and vulnerable for a mother. A woman goes through several physical and hormonal changes and needs to adapt to them. Often lack of proper care and support in this crucial period leads to postpartum depression.

Here is some advice that will guide you in the long run as a husband of a new mom.

Make Sure She Gets Sufficient Sleep and Rest

One of the most painful everyday situations new parents face with a newborn is lack of sleep. Most of the newborn children are prone to crying and waking up randomly throughout the night. This hampers the regular sleep of both mother and father.

However, breastfeeding helps the child to stay calm at night. Continuous breastfeeding throughout the night not only disturbs the mother’s sleep greatly but also, they lose a lot of fluid due to breastfeeding which, ultimately makes them weak.

Therefore, it is essential for mothers who breastfeed to have the minimum amount of sleep required for the body to function properly. It is your responsibility as her life partner to ensure she gets that.

Discuss and Plan Parenting with Her

If you want to carry out your parenting responsibilities as efficiently as possible, you need to discuss and plan with your life partner. And while planning, it is essential to ensure equal division of responsibilities.

Few differences in the opinion with your partner about parenting are normal. Make sure you balance out these differences while taking decisions. Discuss and try to come to a peaceful, considering, and satisfying conclusion.

Encourage Her to Take a Break and Do Some Recreational Activities

The job of a new mother is pretty exhausting and sometimes frustrating. A mother usually needs to take care of the newborn 24/7 without any break. This often leads to depression within her. So, a mother should take a break from taking care of her child as well.

At least once or twice a week, you should encourage your wife to take a break and do some recreational activities or go out with friends to refresh her mind. Meanwhile, take your child’s complete responsibility for some hours to reduce the load on her shoulder.

Surprise Her with Gifts

One of the most essential things to do while taking care of your wife after birth is making efforts to make her happy and content. The small efforts from your side to keep her happy will always motivate her while dealing with the responsibilities of the child.

A surprise is always a good idea. You can give the new mom or mom-to-be some push presents to show your appreciation. Push presents are a relatively new trend. When a child is on the way or has just been born, the birthing parent receives these gifts from their spouse. She will definitely adore the surprises.

Make Sure She is Well Fed and Hydrated

After the birth of a child, a mother’s body goes through a lot of toils. Delivering the child itself puts a huge calamity on a woman’s body. From the time of birth, the mother is required to breastfeed the child several times a day.

This causes the loss of a large quantity of fluid and energy from the body. So, it is really important to ensure the mother eats and drinks sufficiently. Moreover, the intake of nutrition of the child is massively influenced by how well-fed the mother is.

If the mother is not fed or hydrated properly, the child will not get sufficient milk or nutrition through breastfeeding. Therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure your wife eats and drinks properly and sufficiently.

Embrace Her Physical and Hormonal Changes

One of the most common problems which occur after having a baby is physical and hormonal changes within the mother along with side effects. Often, such changes are the causes behind frequent mood swings and depression in new mothers.

Moreover, your beloved spouse might not have those attractive physical attributes anymore. She will have many unexpected body changes after giving birth. She might feel insecure about her appearance, you need to boost her confidence and compliment her beauty to keep her happy.

Talk to Her About Her Mental Health

It is the most important thing for you to do as a partner to ensure her mental fitness. Remember, communication is the key to a happy and long-lasting relationship.

So, talk to her. Help her share her feelings and emotions with you. Try to find out if she is going through depression. And act according to her mental state. If you ever feel she needs to consult with a therapist, don’t hesitate to take her to one.

Be Patient, Tolerant, and Forgiving

Parenting is a game of patience. Once you become a parent, you will have to level up your limit of patience. Not only taking care of the newborn requires a lot of patience and tolerance, taking care of the new mother requires patience and attention too.

As said before, due to the hormonal changes after giving birth, your partner will have a lot of mood swings. Many times, she might behave roughly with you or hurt you with her words. You need to be extra forgiving during those times. You should always remember that she’s going through a lot.

Don’t Leave It All to Her

A child is required to be raised with the joint effort of both parents. It is never the job of only the mother to carry out the daily responsibilities of a child that include feeding, bathing, changing diapers, helping the child to sleep, and so on.

You should always contribute equally from your side in raising and nourishing the child. Make sure your partner doesn’t feel helpless while taking care of the child.

Take the Lead on the Household Chores

No matter how much you contribute from your side in raising a child, it will never be equal to the efforts of a mother. So, the best way to help her besides taking care of the child is taking the charge of the household chores.

Manage cleaning the house, cooking, doing the laundry, washing the dishes, and other household chores as much as possible for you. Try not to put the burden of these on your wife’s shoulder while she’s already tired of dealing with the newborn.

Try to Find Some Time to Spend with Each Other

One thing you will miss out on while raising a child is the romantic relationship with your partner. It is important to keep it intact despite the pressure of the responsibilities of raising and taking care of the child.

So, manage some time to spend with each other. Perhaps, go on a date with your partner. Ask your parents or close relatives to babysit your child for an evening. This will help keep your relationship alive despite the challenges of parenting.

Final Word

Raising a newborn can get frustrating at times. You might want to give up on your responsibilities many times. But always remember that this is temporary. Once your child grows up, it will remain a memory. So, live it together with positivity.