Dr. Erin Stevens Shares Postpartum Tips for Parents
Naturally, Labor Day is a special day at Clinic Sofia. This year, Dr. Erin Stevens joined the morning crew at Fox 9 Good Day to share some tips for what to expect after pregnancy.
Read moreLoving your postpartum body
When you have a baby, pretty much everything changes—including your body. From cracked nipples to extra skin to swollen ankles, the changes in your body may feel foreign and confusing.
“All of this is totally normal! We see celebrities who are back in a bikini a couple weeks after giving birth, but this is a pretty distorted view of postpartum bodies,” said Dr. Pamela Jordi. “There is a reason they call it the ‘fourth trimester.’ You spent the past 40 weeks or so growing another human being in your body and you deserve all the patience in the world as you adjust to parenthood.”
Ask Sofia: Why Am I Losing So Much Hair?
The average person loses about 100 hairs a day, but when you are newly postpartum, you might be seeing three or four times that amount come out in your hairbrush or the shower.
Read moreAsk Sofia: Do you have tips for being postpartum in a pandemic?
When a recent “Ask Sofia” submission asked “what type of postpartum help is safe to accept during the pandemic,” we knew just who to ask! Dr. Erin Stevens, who happens to be the author of “Unexpected: A Postpartum Survival Guide,” just gave birth to her daughter Lorelei in late November.
Read moreLife after Baby: The Unexpected
While most postpartum manuals focus on babies, “Unexpected” examines the issues many new parents struggle to talk about: stitches, C-section recovery, cramping and bleeding, pooping and peeing, sex, birth control, mental health, bonding and the various ways to feed babies.
Read morePostpartum Care
Once your baby has arrived, you may feel a swing of emotions and wonder about your new postpartum body. Caring for your infant is rewarding, but not always easy, which often makes it harder to take care of yourself. Clinic Sofia wants to help you understand how to care for the emotional and physical changes that happen after the birth of your child.
Read moreDepression
Depression can be a result of life events, seasons, work stress, finances, or a strained relationship. It’s natural to feel a little blue, fatigued or empty from time to time. However, if your brief bout of sadness or tiredness deepens, begins to interfere with your daily life or leads to loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, you may be experiencing depression.
Read moreAsk Sofia: What Will My Postpartum Check Consist of?
Scheduled anywhere from two to six weeks after you deliver, your postpartum check-up provides a great chance to see how you’re doing physically and emotionally. If you had a Cesarean section delivery, you will likely see your doctor earlier to check your incision. Otherwise, this appointment will serve as an annual exam and will include a pelvic exam, time to talk and check on your overall recovery from childbirth.
Read morePostpartum Depression and Anxiety
If you have struggled with postpartum depression or the less-recognized postpartum anxiety, you are not alone. As many as 20 percent of women experience anxiety, fatigue, loss of interest in favorite activities, increase or decrease in appetite, feelings of guilt, difficulty concentrating, insomnia or sleeping too much, or thoughts of harming themselves or their child. While most cases of postpartum depression last less than a year, they can impact mother-baby bonding, relationships and overall wellness, so this is not something to take lightly.
Read moreBreastfeeding, Bottle Feeding and Pumping
You may have thought the nosy questions would end once you had your baby (“were you trying or was it an accident?” “do you want a boy or girl?”), but, unfortunately, there are many more to come. Many people will ask you if you’re breastfeeding and how it’s going while gazing toward your chest. The […]
Read moreBirth Control After Baby
Choosing the right birth control after having a baby may mean choosing something that you haven’t used in the past.
Read moreBreastfeeding at Work
While breastfeeding for one year is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other organizations, most working moms go back to work far earlier than that. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to give up your healthy breastfeeding routine.
Read moreThe Lowdown on Postpartum Depression
Thanks to celebrity moms (Brooke Shields, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courteney Cox and others) and less-famous-but-equally-brave new moms who’ve brought the topic out of the shadows of childbirth, postpartum depression is no longer a secret or a dirty word. As a matter of fact, up to 25 percent of women experience depression after giving birth and, for […]
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