Throughout my pregnancy, almost everyone “warned” me about postpartum, or the fourth trimester, if you will. Most of these warnings were well meaning, and some of them (mostly random followers on Instagram who could have just not spoken up) were fear mongering and drenched in a trauma perspective. I get it - there are some horrific birth and postpartum experiences out there, and many women have valid reasons to carry baggage from their season as a new mom. While I firmly believe that it is important to be prepared for a change in plans or the potential of a rough start to motherhood, I also believe that we need to be careful about the way we speak to new moms about something they haven’t experienced yet, and something that may or may not be full of negative experiences.

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