Is this meditation safe during postpartum?

Yes. This is gentle guided practice with no breath-holding or physical exertion. Listen in any comfortable position. If a practice increases distress rather than easing it, stop and speak with your midwife, GP, or a mental health professional.

Do I need the app to listen?

No. Press play on this page for the full guided audio and transcript. The My Maternal Mind app adds offline caching, ambient sound mixing, and a daily meditation written for your current week.

The First Days

Postpartum week 1

0:00−6:33

Background sound

Duration:: 7 min
Stage:: Postpartum · Postpartum week 1
Best for:: The earliest days after birth

How to practise

The fourth trimester asks a lot of a person in a short time. This episode holds recovery and overwhelm, side by side, in the rawest early days, without asking you to perform gratitude or bounce back on cue.

However your birth went, you are now in the strangest, rawest stretch: a healing body, a brand-new person, almost no sleep, and feelings that swing without warning. This practice makes no demand that you feel blissful. It simply holds the overwhelm and the recovery together with kindness, and gives you a few minutes that are only yours.

Find a position that supports you (lying down or seated; whatever your healing body can manage). Press play and let the guidance move at its own pace. There is no correct way to feel, and nothing to visualize on demand.

This episode is written for postpartum week 1. It fits best the earliest days after birth, though you can return whenever the week feels heavy or unfamiliar.

Each week in the series stands alone. Listeners often join at their current week and circle back later; the arc rewards continuity, but nothing here assumes you have been listening since week one.

Full transcript

Welcome to your first days.

Whatever your birth was like, you have just done something monumental, and now you are in the rawest part of all of it. A body that is healing. A tiny new person to learn. Almost no sleep. And feelings that can swing from overwhelmed to amazed and back again, sometimes within an hour.

There is no right way to feel right now. This is not a time to be blissful on cue. It is a time to be gentle with yourself. So let's take a few minutes that are only yours. Let's begin.

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Let's begin by letting your body rest, as much as it can right now.

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Find whatever position your healing body can manage. Lying down is good. Let the surface beneath you take your weight, so you are not holding yourself up.

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Let your eyes close, if that feels okay. If you need to keep them open, near your baby, that is fine too.

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Take one slow breath in.

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And a long breath out.

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Let's steady the breath together. In… one… … two… … three… … four…

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And out, longer. Out… one… … two… … three… … four… … five… … six…

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Let the counting go.

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Your body is healing right now, doing quiet repair work after something enormous. It needs rest, and patience, and kindness, the same things you would give anyone recovering. You do not have to bounce back. There is nothing to bounce back to. There is only forward, slowly, at your body's pace.

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And your heart is doing a lot too. If you feel overwhelmed, tearful, or strangely flat alongside the love, that is so common in these early days, as everything settles. It does not mean anything is wrong with you, and it does not mean you are not grateful. It means you are human, in the middle of one of the biggest changes there is.

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Whether your baby is here beside you, or being cared for somewhere close by, you are still becoming this person's parent, in these very first days. You do not have to feel it all at once. You only have to be here, breathing, healing, one moment at a time.

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Let the overwhelm and the wonder both be here. They are allowed to share the same few minutes. You do not have to choose between them.

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Now, three quiet truths. Let each one land in the body, not only the mind.

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The first. It can be hard and wonderful at the same time.

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Notice where you feel that, if anywhere.

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The second. I am allowed to still be finding my feet.

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Let it settle.

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And the last. I am healing, and that takes time.

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You do not have to be certain. Just let these be true.

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Stay a little longer, breathing, resting in these first raw days.

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And when you are ready, begin to come back. Feel your breath. Feel whatever is holding you.

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Let your eyes open slowly, if they were closed.

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And be gentle with yourself, in every way, today.

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That is the end of this practice.

These early feelings often settle as the days pass. But if low mood or anxiety deepens, or it is still heavy after the first couple of weeks, please tell your midwife, health visitor, or GP. Postnatal struggles are common and very treatable, and reaching out early is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself and your baby.

We will meet again next week.

FAQ

When should I listen to Postpartum Week 1?: This practice is designed for the earliest days after birth, though you can return any time during postpartum.
Is this meditation safe during postpartum?: Yes. This is gentle guided practice with no breath-holding or physical exertion. Listen in any comfortable position. If a practice increases distress rather than easing it, stop and speak with your midwife, GP, or a mental health professional.
Do I need the app to listen?: No. Press play on this page for the full guided audio and transcript. The My Maternal Mind app adds offline caching, ambient sound mixing, and a daily meditation written for your current week.

Related practice

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This episode is one of fifty-one in the Pregnancy Weeks series, with ambient sound mixing, streak tracking, and a daily meditation written for your current week.

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My Maternal Mind supports your wellbeing during pregnancy and birth preparation. It does not replace medical advice, midwifery care, or mental health treatment. Discuss your birth plan and any concerns with your care team.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-30