The worry of getting it ‘right’ with a newborn

Following on from writing ‘Your guide to postnatal health and wellbeing’ FPA and I wanted to write a leaflet focused on your baby.

A huge part of the postnatal process is navigating looking after your newborn, which for most of us is a new and daunting process. It can feel scary at times, particularly when you are on your own looking after your baby trying to understand what they want. Why are they crying? Are they hungry, tired, unwell? How can I get them to sleep?

There are so many worries and anxieties about whether you are getting it right.

Last year, in the midst of the pandemic I gave birth to my second daughter. The second time around, I thought I knew what I was doing however, each baby is different and there are different obstacles to overcome, not least lockdown and juggling two children. There is a lot of information out there, but sometimes difficult to know where to look and what to trust. Despite being a GP (and telling people never to do this) I found myself Googling at 3am about how to get your baby to sleep? Do they have reflux? Or maybe they have colic? You can feel desperate with a lack of sleep and exhaustion.

A useful and reliable source of information, when you need it most!

My aim for this booklet to try and cover the main topics in one space and to suggest useful and reliable resources to use. It can go along side your 6-8 week check up with your GP and can hopefully provide a bit of support in those first couple of weeks and months. In addition, I hope it will aid GPs in the 6-week check, to provide some added information as it is always difficult to cover everything in such a short period of time.

In this leaflet I was also thrilled to include some invaluable advice from Helen Davies who is a holistic sleep therapist. Sleep can be one of the most difficult and emotive subjects in the first couple of weeks and months and is different for everybody. However, Helen has given some really useful advice to try and support you in those early days, giving some great general advice.

The first year of looking after your baby can be one of the steepest learning curves but also the most rewarding.

You will surprise yourself with how you manage despite such a lack of sleep and all the new unknowns. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and chat with your midwife, health visitor or GP. However, in the meantime, I hope this leaflet can provide advice and support.

“Your guide to the health and wellbeing of your new baby. A guide supporting you with your new baby” will be available on FPA’s website from the end of October 2021.