Postnatal Healing Isn’t Just Physical (And That Surprised Me)

A reflection from the weeks when everything looked fine—but didn’t feel it.

I thought I’d prepared well for the postnatal period. I had the maternity pads. The comfy knickers. The freezer meals. I knew I’d be sore. I knew I’d be tired. I expected the physical healing to take time.

But what caught me off guard was everything else.

My Body Was Healing, But I Didn’t Feel Whole 

The stitches were dissolving. I could walk a little further each day. From the outside, I looked like I was “recovering well.”

But inside? I felt fragile. Unanchored. Like I’d been cracked open and hadn’t quite come back together again.

There was this quiet grief no one warned me about. Grief for the version of me who used to feel certain. For mornings with no crying. For freedom. For space. And alongside it—a love so enormous it scared me.

No One Could See That Part 

People asked how the baby was sleeping. They brought gifts and commented on how well I looked.

But no one asked how I was feeling in the in-between. Not physically. Emotionally.

I didn’t even know how to explain it at the time. Just that I felt… not quite here.

What Helped Me Find My Way Back 

It wasn’t rushing to get back to “normal.” It wasn’t fixing or pushing or pretending I was fine.

It was permission to feel it all. It was walking slowly. Crying sometimes. Talking to other mums who nodded without needing the full story.

It was movement that met me gently, like postnatal yoga, breathwork, and rest that didn’t ask anything from me but presence.

It was finding spaces like Nest, where healing meant being held, not just getting better.

At Nest, We Honour the Whole of You Here, you can move gently with postnatal yoga, rest deeply in Mummas Space, connect through baby massage or baby yoga, and share the load over tea at the Play Café.

Every session is led by teachers who are mothers too, spaceholders who understand the deep tenderness of this season. You don’t need to explain. You just need to arrive.

You Deserve More Than Just a 6-Week Check You deserve to be witnessed. To be reminded that the emotional, hormonal, spiritual re-knitting of your self is just as real as the physical healing. And it takes time. And it’s not linear. And you are not broken.

You’re becoming.

If you’re in that tender space, come as you are. Join us at Nest for classes, circles, and connection that see all of you.

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