How Taking Care of Yourself Makes You a Better Mom

Mothering is hard work. It is constant work. It is so easy to stop caring for yourself or to get overwhelmed. But, when you stop caring for yourself, your ability to care for your child is impacted and your ability to enjoy motherhood is impacted.

My Best Advice: Take Care of Yourself

As a pediatric hospitalist, a good part of my career involves caring for new babies in two very different hospital settings. I have been sending moms and babies home for 15 years now. Having watched them, mother blog and having gone through motherhood myself, what would my "best advice for new moms ever" include?

It's something many women work hard to do throughout their pregnancy but stop once they hear that first baby cry. It's something that has a rippling effect for decades. It costs nothing, but saves society millions. It is something that is so hard to do at times and yet so vital.

So, what is my "best advice for new moms ever"? Take care of yourself. That's it, four little words.

When you are pregnant, it is easy to see why this one idea is so very important.

The little baby growing inside of you is directly affected by what you eat, drink and do.

If you smoke, the baby gets exposed and doesn't grow as well.

If you are chronically stressed or depressed, your body's responsive hormones cause a cascade of negative effects on your baby. 

If you eat poorly, the baby is at risk for poor growth.

But once the baby is no longer a part of your body, it is easy to forget that tight association between how you care for yourself and how you care for your child's health. 

It Isn't Selfish to Take Time to Exercise!

A mom who is well rested, eats a healthy diet, gets plenty of exercise, maintains close relationships with friends and gets help when she realizes she isn't coping well, is far more equipped to be the best mother she can be than one who doesn't do those things. It isn't selfish to take time to exercise or to get an adequate sleep each night.

I can remember when I was in middle school waking up to my mom returning from a training run with stories of "the nice police man" who followed her while she was running to make sure she was safe. My mom is a trusting soul, she often ran at 4:00 AM. Looking back, now that I am a mom, three things about that memory are clear:

I no longer think she was crazy for running at 4:00 AM. It was the only down time she had as a mom, and she took advantage of it rather that choosing not to exercise.