In this episode of the Nourishing Birth and Beyond podcast, I explore the concept of self-care for parents, highlighting the societal pressures on birthing parents to prioritise others over themselves. I share my personal experiences and insights on the challenges of maintaining self-care in demanding environments, such as healthcare and parenting. I also emphasize the importance of setting boundaries, finding moments for personal well-being, and incorporating simple practices like mindful breathing into daily routines. I want to encourage you to reflect on your own self-care habits and make changes to prevent burnout and health issues, ultimately aiming to pass on these lessons to the next generation.
In this episode of the podcast I talk about:
- The critical role of self-care for parents, particularly in managing the chaos and demands of parenting.
- How societal expectations for birthing parents condition us to prioritize others’ needs, often at the expense of our own well-being.
- My personal journey and challenges faced in balancing self-care with professional and parental responsibilities.
- Tips for setting boundaries and finding small moments throughout the day to focus on personal well-being, such as mindful breathing exercises.
- Advice for reflecting on your own self-care practices to prevent burnout and health issues, with a focus on passing these lessons on to future generations.
Sound bites from this episode:
“Putting my own oxygen mask on first was essential for my survival and therefore my children’s survival.”
“Society certainly does expect birthing parents to be the ones who bend over backwards and do everything. And it was definitely something that was kind of a learnt thing. Like, I learned from my mum that I should put everybody’s needs ahead of my own.”
“It’s not a case of if you end up with a health problem. It’s a case of when. I have Hashimoto’s, which is autoimmune thyroiditis. And it’s a direct impact, excuse me, it’s direct correlation to me not learning to look after myself until just a few years ago.”
“We all take the load. We share the load, and we all need to rest and look after ourselves well.”
“The idea that was passed on to me was that we sacrifice ourselves for everybody else. And that wasn’t a gift. But my gift is to learn to look after myself and show my children.”
Subscribe and Review
Thank you so much for listening to this week’s episode! If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment on this post.
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love for you to share it with another parent who you think might benefit from it.
Also, I’d love for you to leave an honest review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts. This will help me to continuously make each episode better and better. Ratings and reviews are also extremely helpful for helping my work reach more of the parents who need
And please subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app so that you get automatic updates and never miss an episode!
Leave a Reply