The fourth trimester challenges mums physically, emotionally, and mentally.
So The Midwife Mumma, Amelia Lamont, is sharing her unfiltered, honest, and achievable advice for the first twelve weeks after birth.
The mum of four, midwife, and lactation and sleep consultant says the fourth trimester is often swept aside after the buildup and focus on pregnancy and birth.
“The fourth trimester is rough, but beautiful. Challenging, but rewarding. Exhausting, but fulfilling. Indefinite, but short,” Amelia wrote.
“You will not just be physically and emotionally challenged for the next twelve or so weeks, you’ll be mentally challenged too.”
Her new book, The Fourth Trimester, covers birth; the first day and night at home; feeding; health checks and vital health milestones; the importance of sleep and how to get it; and finding your groove and maintaining your mental health and wellbeing.
“Generally, by the time you hit home, the happy hormones and adrenaline have worn off,” Amelia wrote.
“Reality sets in and you begin to realise that what lies ahead for the next few months is constant nappy changes, never-ending walks to dispose of them in the outside bin, and countless hours feeding your baby, whether that be via the breast or the bottle.
“It’s cold coffee and toast scraps. Sore boobs and sore bums.
“Forgetting yourself and feeling invisible. Prioritising everything but minimising your needs.
“Healing your body yet stretching yourself more than ever before.”
Amelia told readers she couldn’t help but write this guide, despite being stretched herself.
“Sharing my words and personal knowledge with you all is cathartic for me,” she said.
She stresses that she’s not a doctor, more like “a sister sharing advice with a sister, or a grandma or mumma telling their daughter wonderful words of insight”.
“Basically, I’m sharing some everyday ‘common sense’ – that doesn’t seem to be so common these days – from one midwife mumma to another fresh, fragile mumma and family,” she wrote
Amelia is mum to Alfie, 9, Essie, 7, Coco, 4, and Scout, 1.
She started her midwifery career 10 years ago and has since added qualified sleep consultant to her arsenal.
“The importance of sleep for everyone is so underrated, and for babies postpartum, sleep is a necessity for survival,” she wrote.
“After the birth of my third baby, Coco, I found I was absolutely loving breastfeeding the third time around.
“But I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of guilt that breastfeeding was so easy for me, when my Instagram was flooded with desperate mothers seeking breastfeeding support.
“It drove me to want to learn about breastfeeding in greater depth than my midwife training had provided, so I studied lactation consulting for a year, sat a four-hour exam and became a certified IBCLC (International Board of Certified Lactation Consultants).”
Amelia shares her motherhood highs and lows on Instagram account @themidwifemumma.
