BATON ROUGE, LA (WGMB) – Being a new mom isn’t easy, but in this week’s Women’s Wellness, I caught up with Dr. Susan Bankston, a 20-year pediatrician here in at the Baton Rouge Clinic, to get tips for moms out there.
“One thing I always tell them is make sure you get enough rest after having a baby. People think it’s the easiest thing in the world, but especially, if you end up with a C-section, you had major surgery, and you’re supposed to care for this wonderful bundle of joy afterward. So, you need to take care of yourself. Take a nap whenever the baby takes a nap. Don’t worry about the house. I always tell couples that happy couples make great parents, and I always try to get the dad involved or the partner involved, and make sure they go on a date about two weeks of age of the baby, and have some adult conversations,” explained Dr. Bankston.
Dr. Bankston said new moms should also pay attention to symptoms of postpartum depression.
“We look for things like postpartum depression. I call them the “mama blues.” I had one woman actually tell me ‘I don’t want to touch my baby. These are not things to be embarrassed about.’ These are not things to be ashamed about. Talk to your pediatrician. Talk to your ob/gyn. We can make this better for you so you can enjoy your baby,” said Dr. Bankston.
What else can moms do to help with the post-baby chaos?
“Get into play groups, where they are talking to other moms. It helps to know that there are other people that are going through the same things that you are. The first two months of a babies life, if they get a fever, that’s a big deal. So, we try to get people to stay home, stay close, unless you’re going to a doctor visit, but during that time, that’s when you have one of two adult friends coming in to visit because the kids, especially at this time of winter, they’re bringing colds and those kinds of things, and we don’t want that new born baby to get those things.”
For more tips, just head to the links below:
https://www.cdc.gov/pregnancy/after.html
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/depression/activities.htm