How Coaching Postpartum Clients Has Changed — And Why Individualized Care Matters Most

Over the last decade, my opinion and philosophy on how to best help postpartum clients has evolved as much as any other specific population. Moreover, during this process, I have affirmed even more that the principle of individuality not only applies to postpartum clients (like any other client) but that the principle of individuality is probably most clearly demonstrated with postpartum women due to the fact everyone, every pregnancy, every delivery, and all care post-delivery is just so different from mother to mother. However, my evolution as a coach isn’t just about programming or macros but has mainly been geared toward helping them get the care they deserve.

‍

‍

What You Can Focus On Postpartum…

‍

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:

‍

“Postpartum care should be viewed as continuous rather than a one-time event, tailored to meet each woman’s unique needs in order to ensure the best health outcomes for both women and infants.”

‍

Additionally, postpartum care isn’t provided by a single person but rather a team of people aiming to provide the most well-rounded care possible (1).

‍

So, while this list is not an exhaustive list, here are a few of the things as a coach I encourage all my postpartum clients to do that has nothing to do with training or weight loss:

‍

‍

Inquire About Their Postpartum Care

‍

While this might seem like a “duh” point, I have learned over the years it is actually not. According to researchers, upwards of 40% of women do not attend a postpartum visit – limiting the management of chronic health conditions and access to effective postpartum resources (2).

‍

And while I think it is great they have decided to work with a coach, I know there are many things I can’t do as a coach in this area. So, what do I do? I ask about their current postpartum care plan. I ask what their doctor recommends. I ask how they envision their care plan working alongside coaching.

‍

And while many times they are shocked at first to think of coaching and postpartum care as integrated, they soon realize that they can complement each other really well when working in tandem.

‍

‍

Evaluate Their Mental Health

‍

If you were to ask most people, they probably would say they know postpartum is associated with increased anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, like many cases of depression and anxiety, people might know it is common but also do not think they are dealing with it themselves.

‍

Research has shown that upwards of 20% of postpartum women deal with anxiety symptoms and disorders (3). And if left untreated, the symptoms are independent predictors of major depressive disorder.

‍

So, what do I do? I frequently ask and check in on clients to see how they are sleeping, how their appetite is, what their stress levels are, etc. But when I ask these questions, I will frequently get the answer, “I am not sleeping great and don’t have a super big appetite, but that is normal for postpartum.”

‍

And while it might be common, that does not mean it should be considered normal. So, as a coach, I try to work with my clients and develop a plan to connect with professionals in this area so they can work through this in order to complement our coaching plan.

‍

Moreover, like postpartum care, when clients are working with mental health professionals, I encourage my clients to align our goals with their plan as much as possible so we can collectively work towards one goal instead of working against each other.

‍

Shameless plug, a major perk of LVLTN and working with LVLTN is our mental health and maternal mental health calls and the numerous connections with many experts in this area.

‍

‍

Track Their Macros… But Not Why You Might Think

‍

First, let me say, I do not have clients jump right into macro tracking if they are not ready. If we are still working through stress, sleep, and other biofeedback issues then simply getting in whole foods and increasing nutrient density is much more important to me than macros.

‍

However, once a client is ready for a little more structure in their tracking, we start to focus on macronutrients… but not with the goal of losing weight. So why then?

‍

Postpartum hormonal changes are quite significant and play a crucial role in the body’s transition back to its pre-pregnancy state. During pregnancy, the body experiences a surge in hormones like estrogen and progesterone to support the growth and development of the fetus. After childbirth, these hormone levels drop rapidly, leading to various physiological and emotional changes.

‍

These hormonal changes are essential for the body to adapt to the demands of pregnancy and childbirth. However, they can also contribute to the physical and physiological challenges experienced by some women during the postpartum period.

‍

So, we track macros to provide some stability within the body. If my clients are gaining weight or losing weight, we want to know what is and what isn’t the cause. For example, during the postpartum phase, women can experience increased weight, decreases in resting metabolic rate (i.e., the energy needed simply to stay alive), and increased insulin resistance (4).

‍

Moreover, if the client is breastfeeding, appetite, blood sugar regulation, and inflammatory responses are commonly disrupted. So, we track not to lose weight or to gain weight but to give us an idea of where we are at physiologically.

‍

Just as you wouldn’t start taking medication before you knew the cause of a sickness, we are not going to jump into any fat loss phase until we know where we are at physiologically, both for the mother’s health but also the baby’s too.

‍

‍

Final Thoughts

‍

As I stated above, this list is by no means an exhaustive list of things I try to do for my postpartum clients. However, I think they paint a good picture of what mothers would benefit from in their postpartum journey.

‍

So if you are in that postpartum phase:

• Make sure you are getting the care you deserve/need
• Realize your mental health is important and not something that just gets better once your baby is older
• Slowly get into a good nutrition routine to provide yourself with some stability in order to promote a healthy healing process

‍

Your journey is unique to you and may require different attention from those around you (or even previous pregnancies). Take care of yourself and put yourself first!

‍

‍

Ready to start thriving again? Let us help by putting an expert in your corner to get you there faster and maintain that progress for life! Learn more about our online health coaching by clicking here!

‍

‍

References:

1. Stuebe, A., Auguste, T., Gulati, M., & American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2018). Presidential task force on redefining the postpartum visit committee on obstetric practice optimizing postpartum care. Committee Opinion 736. Obstet Gynecol, 131(5), 140-50.
2. McKinney, J., Keyser, L., Clinton, S., & Pagliano, C. (2018). ACOG Committee Opinion No. 736: optimizing postpartum care. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 132(3), 784-785.
3. van der Zee-van, A. I., Boere-Boonekamp, M. M., Groothuis-Oudshoorn, C. G., & Reijneveld, S. A. (2021). Postpartum depression and anxiety: a community-based study on risk factors before, during and after pregnancy. Journal of Affective Disorders, 286, 158-165.
4. Tinius, R. A., Yoho, K., Blankenship, M. M., & Maples, J. M. (2021). Postpartum metabolism: how does it change from pregnancy and what are the potential implications?. International Journal of Women's Health, 591-599.