In Australia, and in many other Western societies, it’s not uncommon for women to overlook the importance of lying in, resting, slowing right down or taking it easy for the first 6 weeks postpartum. When new mums overlook their physical health or simply don’t understand the importance of giving themselves adequate time to recover from the extraordinary effort of giving birth, they are more likely to feel overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or depressed.

An assignment I wrote some years back while doing my original doula certification course about the hormones involved in a normal physiological labour and birth. A good and easy read for anyone wanting to understand how all these hormones work in the body.

The most common medical interventions during pregnancy and labour are the induction of labour, regular vaginal examinations to determine extent of cervical dilation and the management of pain…