If you’re wondering how to prepare for postpartum as a first-time mom, then I’m so glad you’re here. While so much of pregnancy is focused on preparing for birth, it’s equally important to prepare for what comes after: the postpartum period. Becoming a mom for the first time is one of the most transformative experiences you’ll ever have. Your body, your emotions, and your daily life will shift in big ways - and having a plan can make this transition feel more supported and less overwhelming.
In this guide, we’ll walk through some of the most common questions first-time moms have about preparing for postpartum, from recovery to essentials to building a support system.
Pregnant? Be sure to download your free postpartum prep checklist!
What can I do during pregnancy to prepare for postpartum recovery?
During pregnancy, you can prepare for postpartum recovery by learning what to expect after birth, stocking up on nourishing meals, setting realistic healing expectations, and planning support with your partner and/or a doula. Small steps during pregnancy make recovery smoother and less stressful.
Postpartum recovery doesn’t start the day your baby is born - it starts in pregnancy with the choices you make and the expectations you set. Here are some ways you can prepare ahead of time:
Set realistic expectations. Healing takes time. Knowing that it’s okay to rest, accept help, and move slowly can make a huge difference.
Learn about postpartum healing. Understand what’s normal after birth - like bleeding, soreness, or fatigue - so you don’t feel caught off guard.
Plan for rest. Rest is the most essential factor in your postpartum recovery, as well as for bonding with your baby. Planning to have logistical help with things like cooking and cleaning can give you the time you need to stay in bed and enjoy all-day snuggles with your little one. See also: How to Create a Holistic Postpartum Plan
Stock up on nourishing meals. Prepping freezer meals or arranging a meal train can make sure you have nourishing, easy food on hand.
Communicate with your partner. Talk about how you’ll share responsibilities and what support you’ll need.
When you prepare for postpartum as a first-time mom during pregnancy, you give yourself the best chance to recover with more ease and confidence.
What items should be in a postpartum essentials kit?
A postpartum essentials kit should include recovery supplies, self-care items, and emotional support tools. Keeping these within reach makes healing and newborn care more manageable.
A postpartum essentials kit can be a lifesaver in those first few weeks. It helps you keep everything you might need within reach, whether you’re healing, breastfeeding, or simply trying to get comfortable. Here are some items many new moms find helpful:
Postpartum essentials kit:
Pads of all sizes
Sitz bath
Nursing pads
A water bottle
Journal or notebook to process your thoughts
Snacks with protein
Comfortable bras suitable for nursing - see below for my favorite nursing bras!
The Allie Bra by The Little Milk Bar is designed specifically for nursing moms to feel comfortable wearing while sleeping. I am an affiliate for the The Little Milk Bar because I believe these bras are truly designed for the needs of breastfeeding moms. Plus, TLMB is mother-owned, Latina-owned, and pro-breastfeeding. What's not to love!? Use THIS link and you'll automatically get a discount code applied at checkout for 10% off your order.
Every mom’s postpartum essentials kit will look a little different - so start with whatever you know already brings you the most comfort and convenience.
How do I build a postpartum support network before baby comes?
To build a postpartum support network, identify trusted friends and family, consider professional help like doulas or lactation counselors, join mom groups, and clearly share what kind of help you’ll need. Preparing your support system before birth helps you feel less isolated after baby arrives.
One of the most overlooked - but most powerful - ways to prepare for postpartum as a first-time mom is to intentionally build your support system ahead of time, so you’re never left to face challenges alone.
Identify your “go-to” people. Think about who you can call for meals, childcare help, or just to listen when things feel hard.
Talk openly about your needs. Many friends and family want to help but aren’t sure how. Be specific about what would feel supportive - like folding laundry, holding the baby while you shower, or bringing a hot meal.
Join community groups. Whether it’s local mom meetups, online forums, or postpartum classes, connecting with others can help you feel less isolated.
Consider professional support. A postpartum doula, lactation counselor, or therapist can provide expert guidance and emotional support.
A strong postpartum support network doesn’t just make the transition easier - it helps you feel seen, held, and encouraged as you step into motherhood.
Final Thoughts
When you prepare for postpartum as a first-time mom, make sure you’re not just planning for the baby - it’s about planning for yourself too. Postpartum is a season of healing, learning, and adjusting. By taking steps now to prepare your body, gather your essentials, and build a support network, you’ll create the foundation for a smoother, more supported transition.
Transcript
Hello and welcome back to the Postpartum Prep Podcast. I'm Ceridwen, your host, and this is the first of our weekly bonus episodes where we'll have one topic for the week and you can submit your questions and I will answer three of your actual questions about postpartum prep. Each week I'll be sharing our weekly theme on my Instagram stories so you can send me a DM in response to that story and I will choose three of your real questions to answer right here on the podcast.And just as a little tip in case you're not already subscribed to my email newsletter, I actually share the upcoming theme in my email newsletter earlier than when I'll post it on my Instagram so the people in the email newsletter will get priority for submitting their questions and I'll also give them priority for the questions I actually choose for that week's episode. So if you're not already subscribed to the email newsletter and you want to see the weekly themes upcoming so you can submit your questions in advance and get priority, the best way to do that is actually go to motherbabywellbeing.com slash guide and you'll enter your details there and as a little thank you for subscribing to the email I'll send you a free guide and if you've been listening along to the podcast you'll know that the free guide is a step-by-step guide to making intentional choices for birth and beyond. So the way these bonus episodes work is I'll answer three of your real questions in 15 minutes so that's five minutes per question. Now before we waste any more time let's just get into this week's topic which is how to prepare for postpartum as a first time mom. And I can hear the people in the apartment above me must have just hopped into the shower so I'll try to edit the sounds out but I'm really sorry if you can hear the shower sounds but I'm recording this in the 15 minutes after my son goes to bed before I get to have my own chill time so we're just gonna go with the flow. I'll try to edit the sounds out but sorry if you can hear.Alright let's get into it. How to prepare for postpartum as a first time mom. And before I talk about the actual questions for this week I just want to say if you clicked on this podcast episode I really hope that you're giving yourself a pat on the back because your postpartum self is going to thank you so much for your decision to make postpartum prep a priority.Because most pregnant moms are focused so much on the birth, rightly so, but all the focus goes on to the birth and postpartum really becomes an afterthought when in reality birth is one day whereas postpartum is weeks if not months or years long. So it's so important to prepare for what comes after birth equally as important as preparing for birth if not more because there really is so much change that happens in those early weeks. You're recovering from birth, you're getting used to life with your new baby, your baby is getting used to living on the outside of your body, not to mention all the hormonal shifts. You're probably going to be feeling emotional, you're definitely going to be recovering from either a vaginal or a caesarean birth and your body's also recovering from pregnancy. I think that part often gets left out of the equation but pregnancy itself puts a toll on your body that you need to recover from. You might also be learning how to breastfeed, you're probably gonna be extremely exhausted from being up at all sorts of hours with your baby and most importantly of all you're gonna want to be spending as much time bonding with your baby as you can and that takes a little bit of forethought, a little bit of planning and for all the reasons I said it's just so important to actually prepare for postpartum and first-time moms especially don't know what is actually coming after birth.You absolutely can handle it but you're gonna handle it even better if you have preparations in place, if you have a plan in place, if you are truly ready for the experience of postpartum. So now that I've given my little spiel about why I believe postpartum prep is so important, let's get into the first question. What can I do during pregnancy to prepare for postpartum recovery? And this is really just a general overview of postpartum prep.What are the ways that I need to prepare for postpartum and specifically for postpartum recovery but the truth is we can't separate out just postpartum recovery from learning to live with your baby or from breastfeeding or from bonding because they're all so interlinked. When you're prepared in as many ways as you can be in all the different areas that's all going to allow for you to have the smoothest recovery journey as possible. And this is the first tip that I have which is about setting realistic expectations.I really want you to understand that postpartum really is such a special sacred time. It really is just this little window of time when everything might seem completely out of the ordinary. It might seem strange that you do need a lot of rest after birth to recover.It might seem strange that your baby wants to be held 24-7. It might seem strange that you're breastfeeding constantly. It might seem strange that your baby's circadian rhythm doesn't know the difference between night and day so your sleep gets completely out of sync with your usual routines.But when we're realistic, when we know that these things are just a normal part of the postpartum experience and we can see this season for just what it is, it's just this season. That's what makes it such a special season. It's really a unique time.And being realistic about what to expect in this season only allows us to prepare more realistically. It allows us to make realistic choices about how we prepare for postpartum. And that's why the next point I want to suggest is to learn about postpartum healing so that you don't get caught off guard, so that you understand what's normal and you understand what kind of practical preparations you'll need to make to support your body through that healing.Like the next point that I have is planning for a rest. I already mentioned this before but rest is really one of the most essential factors in your postpartum recovery as well as for having time to really bond with your baby. You need a lot of downtime.You can spend it just allowing your body to rest and recover. And all that time is going to be time spent maybe skin to skin with your baby, maybe breastfeeding, maybe just gazing down at them, looking into their eyes. But you'll need to plan so that you do have logistical help with things like maybe cooking or cleaning so that you'll have that time to just stay in bed and enjoy all day snuggles with your little baby.Talking about cooking, the next point I wanted to bring up is nourishment for you. Whether that's freezer meals or arranging a meal train or another thing that I've heard I heard a mom say recently that their work organized just meal delivery gift vouchers for her and so she was able to order whatever she wanted straight to her door every night. I thought that was a really great idea.And then the last thing I wanted to say about preparing for postpartum during pregnancy is communicating with your partner. Talking about what your expectations are for how you'll share responsibilities and what support you'll need through your postpartum recovery journey. Because it's a really good idea that you're both on the same page about what this season of life is going to look like.It's a really good idea that your partner also has those realistic expectations I mentioned before about what this season is going to be like so that you'll both be able to work together as a team. Okay I think I went way over five minutes with answering that question so I'm gonna try and do a little rapid spitfire for this next one which is what items should be in a postpartum essentials kit and I'm gonna just go through this one really quickly. So a couple of the essentials that I think you know there's so many lists out there about what are the real essentials but honestly I think a lot is like affiliate marketing and I'm gonna be real with you I don't think you need half of the things that are on those lists but there are some things which I think really can be essential to some moms.In reality all mom's essentials are actually going to be completely different but there are a few things that I do think most moms will need. So one is pads of all sizes. If you don't know you're gonna bleed after birth whether you've had a vaginal birth or a cesarean birth so it's really great to have lots of pads of all sorts of different sizes.Even some people like to use adult diapers. I have mixed thoughts on adult diapers. I guess the one thing that I would just say is just remember change it often which brings me to sits baths.If you don't know what a sits bath is. A sits bath is like a soak for a lot of people use it for if they have perineal tearing and then the next thing on my list is nursing pads. If you don't know you might be leaking milk.Many moms leak milk and so nursing pads can be really helpful to catch the drip so that all your clothes don't get soaked which brings me to comfortable bras because you'll need something to hold these nursing pads in and I say comfortable because your breasts might be leaking while you're sleeping so you may end up wearing a bra. This was something I totally had to get used to after I gave birth and I was not prepared for at all and I ended up buying some new bras because I had these nursing bras but they just were not comfortable to sleep in and I ended up buying bras that were more like sports bras that I could just pull down. I could pull my breasts out of the top super easily they were really soft and stretchy but they held the nursing pads in.The next essential is a water bottle. I'm sure if you're pregnant everyone's already told you you need a water bottle for pregnancy it just continues to postpartum and especially with breastfeeding you will need you you will be so thirsty so having a water bottle is great and then snacks snacks with protein so things like nuts things like cheese things like yogurt things like oh what are they called meat sticks do people call them meat sticks I can't think of what the word is but hopefully you know what I mean I feel like meat sticks is not it's like jerky sticks maybe even just jerky that works too my mind is going blank of other high protein snack ideas but I'm sure if you just look up a list you'll find plenty so that's postpartum essentials moving on because I feel like I've talked way too much to try and fit all this into a 15 minute episode but I really want to try and do it so the next question we've got is how do I start building my village before baby comes and I love this question because it really is one of the most overlooked but such a powerful part of preparing for postpartum especially as a first-time mom because you may have never really needed a village in the same way before but when it comes to postpartum support is one of the most important things of having a smoother postpartum transition whether it's for practical help or whether it's just for emotional support and to feel like you're truly held through this experience having people to turn to so you're not isolated after baby arrives is just so important so the first tip I have is identifying your go-to people just literally making a list of who you could call if you need help with meals if you need help with child care help if you have older children or a list of people who you can call up who you know will be happy for you to call them anytime if you just need to chat if things are feeling hard a list of those kind of people the next is talking openly about your needs and what kind of support you're hoping that you'll have after you give birth because most people really do want to help they just don't know exactly what you need or they might be worried that you just want some space and yes there is I know a lot of new moms do want this a little bit of space after they've given birth just to spend time with their partner and their baby and just bond all together as a family but there's still things people can do that don't even involve coming into your home like dropping you off food or running errands for you or getting groceries so that you are able to actually just stay home in that little bubble and if you do have people who you know will be coming into your home talking with them is before birth is such an important part because those are the people who you'll especially want to talk about not just boundaries but expectations for what kinds of support you'll actually want in the home and you know expectations that you're not hosting in this time of life really all you need from people that are coming to stay with you or coming to visit is practical and emotional support things like folding the laundry things like holding the baby when you ask them to or things even like loading the dishwasher those kind of practical things can be so helpful especially from visitors who can see already around in your home with their own eyes what you might need letting them know in advance that you are absolutely okay with them taking on responsibilities can be kind of nice for them because they know that you know they don't have to feel awkward about saying hey your kitchen is really messy can I help you with that they know that you're absolutely more than happy for them to give you all the help that you need the next point that I have for building your village before baby arrives is joining a mom group and a lot of mom groups welcome you to go during pregnancy because those moms know what you're about to go through and they know that you'll need all the support you can get and mom groups can be such a great place to go to after baby arrives just to get that mom-to-mom support relate with moms who really get it and just feel less alone the last point I have is considering professional support because there are some kinds of postpartum support that your friends and family might just not be able to give you so for example you might need you might want to look for lactation support in your area you also might want to look for mental health support in your area who are the therapists who are the psychiatrists who are the mental health specialists that will be able to support you if you do need mental health support after birth and another kind of postpartum support that is tailor-made for postpartum moms is postpartum doula support and a postpartum doula helps you with the practical help you need at home a postpartum doula also helps you with the emotional support she listens she validates she makes sure that you feel seen and heard and a postpartum doula can also give you just really great practical tips how to care for a baby how to support your own postpartum recovery and I hope you see from this list that there's just so many places that you can look to to build your postpartum support village before baby even arrives so we've made it to the end of the episode make sure to keep an eye on my Instagram stories or to subscribe to my newsletter so you'll know what the next topic is and you can submit your questions for next week and if you do have any more questions about today's episode about how to prepare for postpartum as a first-time mom I would be happy to chat with you just hop on over to my Instagram DMs and we can get chatting there thank you so much for listening today and I'll see you in the next episode.