Fourth Trimester: What to Expect

Pregnancy Podcast

Vanessa Merten

Newborn, Parent, Homebirth, Vbac, Kids & Family, Doula, Firsttimemom, Midwife, Pregnancy, Doctor, Parenting, Pregnant, Vanessamerten, Physician, Csection, Prenatalcare, Breastfeeding, Naturalbirth, Nursing, Birthcenter, Family, Baby, Hospitalbirth, Health, Obgyn, Research, Trimester, Expecting, Labor, Mom, Diet, Dad, Birth

4.5 • 948 Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During pregnancy, you focus on your health, your baby, and preparing for birth. What comes after birth is just as important, and often overlooked. Your body needs time to recover from nine months of pregnancy, labor, and the early demands of breastfeeding and caring for a newborn. Many postpartum changes are entirely normal, yet they are rarely discussed. In this episode, let’s change that. I will walk you through what to expect physically and emotionally in the weeks after birth, so you are not caught off guard. We will also cover the warning signs to watch for to help ensure your recovery is on track.

Thank you to our sponsors

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Read the full article and resources that accompany this episode.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, get a copy of the Your Birth Plan Book, and more.

Check out the 40 Weeks podcast to learn how your baby grows each week and what is happening in your body. Plus, get a heads up on what to expect at your prenatal appointments and a tip for dads and partners.

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You are listening to the pregnancy podcast with Vanessa Martin.
0:10.4	Hello, thank you for tuning into the pregnancy podcast.
0:15.5	Today's episode, we're talking about what to expect in the fourth trimester.
0:20.9	When you're pregnant, you're focusing on your health, your baby, preparing for birth.
0:26.0	What comes after you have your baby is just as important.
0:30.5	And it is often overlooked.
0:33.1	Your body needs time to recover from nine months of pregnancy, going through labor, and all the demands of breastfeeding and caring for a newborn.
0:43.1	There's a lot of postpartum changes that are completely normal, but many that are rarely discussed.
0:50.0	In this episode, I want to change that.
0:53.1	I'll walk you through what to expect physically and emotionally in the weeks following your birth so that you are not caught off guard.
1:01.0	I'll also cover warning signs to watch out for so that you can ensure that your recovery is on track.
1:08.5	You can find the complete article and all of the resources for this episode
1:13.8	at Pregnancypodcast.com slash expect postpartum. You are currently listening to the public feed
1:24.3	of the podcast, which gives you access to ad-supported content and the last
1:29.4	year of episodes. Become a pregnancy podcast premium member to unlock every episode ad-free,
1:37.7	including hundreds of episodes exclusively available to premium members. No matter what topic you're looking for more information on,
1:47.1	there is an episode of the Pregnancy podcast with the answers you're looking for.
1:52.2	Check out Pregnancy Podcast Premium at Pregnancypodcast.com slash premium.
2:06.2	Thank you to VTech for their support. The V-Tek-V-Hush stroller rocker is a portable device that features a mechanical rocking mechanism to gently
2:12.6	rock your baby's crib or their stroller to promote better sleep on the go.
2:18.9	Soothe your baby to sleep anywhere with the V-Tech v-hush stroller rocker.
2:23.8	It's available at Walmart and you can check it out at Pregnancypodcast.com slash stroller rocker.
	...

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