17. The Six-Week Lie: Rethinking the Postpartum We’ve Normalized

What if the conversation around **postpartum mental health** needs to start long before a mother reaches a crisis point? In this episode, we take a wider look at **maternal mental health, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and the emotional transition into motherhood**. We explore the identity shift that comes with becoming a mother, the difficulty of knowing what’s “normal” postpartum, and how sleep deprivation, anxiety, rage, nutrition, and lack of support can impact a mother’s mental and emotional well-being. We also talk about the importance of **building a village**, postpartum doulas, midwifery care, extended family, bodywork, rest, and creating more intentional support for mothers. Looking at postpartum traditions in other cultures, we question why Western culture often expects women to quickly return to “normal” instead of recognizing that becoming a mother is a profound physical, psychological, and emotional transition. Drawing from our own postpartum experiences, we get honest about **sleep deprivation, anxiety, breastfeeding, identity, receiving care, and finding our way back to ourselves after birth**—and ask what we can do individually and collectively to create a healthier postpartum experience for mothers. **In this episode, we talk about:** - Maternal & postpartum mental health - Postpartum depression, anxiety, and rage - The identity shift into motherhood - Sleep deprivation, nutrition, and nervous system regulation - Building a postpartum village - Postpartum doulas and midwifery care - Cultural differences in postpartum recovery - The six-week postpartum expectation - Learning how to receive support - Our own postpartum experiences - How we can show up differently for new mothers **Books we mentioned:** - The First Forty Days: https://a.co/d/0cTiRL7H <!--THE END--> - The Body Keeps The Score: https://a.co/d/044TJizF **New Episodes drop every Monday!** **Join our email list** to get reminders about new episodes and future offerings ⁠https://womanwithinpod.myflodesk.com/joinus⁠ **Follow us on Instagram** @womanwithinpod @nicole\_mejia @soulfully\_sarah\_stew If this episode resonates with you, **don't forget to like and subscribe.** *Thank you so much for listening!*