Getting back to YOU

Part of the rollercoaster of post-labour trauma is the absolute minefield of emotions which come with your hormones and body getting back into sync. As if it’s not cruel enough that you’ve lost your baby, you have a hurricane of emotions and up’N’downs to deal with.

My first thought when my period jumped back after 5 weeks was “Woo, my body’s back to normal”, but I’m slowly starting to realise that really isn’t the case yet. After delivering a stillborn, post-labour surgery and the stress in the following weeks, it’s very normal for your body to take months to find its groove again – while it may appear normal on the outside, there still may be a few kinks on the inside which need fine tuning – and that’s ok. The hard part is not putting pressure on yourself to be normal and fertile again, especially when you’re ready to start trying for a baby again.

Educating yourself on hormone functions

If there’s one thing that’s helped me understand my post-stillbirth body, it’s not only listening to it but also education – lots of reading on what happens to the body during pregnancy and after labour, as well as what stress can do to the body.

Whilst Googling your concerns to self-diagnose is never a good idea, I’ve found reading studies and highly credited papers on hormones, stress and the body has been very useful.

The first inkling I had that something wasn’t quite right was that my periods were much watery than they were before Avery – TMI I know, sorry! At first, you’re going to notice changes, but if they keep up, like my ‘new’ periods did, then maybe start doing a little reading, because the explanation is usually perfectly normal.

In my case, watery periods are a big sign of a hormonal imbalance, which made perfect sense. So, I spent hours reading on natural ways to balance them back out (the pill would be the first option but I didn’t want to go down that route for obvious reasons). I found that one of the most natural ways for a woman to get their hormones supercharging again was through omega-3 fatty acids, among other simple supplements – so that’s what I’m doing.

This is now my daily dose of supplements to support with balancing out my hormones, and within 2 weeks of sticking to it, along with clean eating, limiting caffeine, 8 hours sleep and light exercise, I’m already starting to notice a huge change in my emotions and general wellbeing. And the more I feel like myself again, the less stressed I feel, ultimately balancing everything back out!

• Omega-3 high strength
• Women’s exclusive supplement (H&B) contains some key nutrients for your body
• Maca powder – find out more about maca powder here
• Coconut oil (an essential fat which is a fundamental building block for hormone production. Other good fats include avocados, grass fed butter and wild-caught salmon)
• Magnesium (take one at night) – a miracle supplement which aids sleep and regulates cortisol among many other benefits to your hormones, read more here.
• Zinc – evidence shows that zinc supplementation may help balance female hormones

Yes, it’s impossible to say ’don’t be stressed’ but it is possible to implement some health changes to naturally balance yourself back out. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

One day at a time .. XO Nicole