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.

Feeding and Being Fed

Postpartum week 3

0:00−11:53

Background sound

Duration:: 12 min
Stage:: Postpartum · Postpartum week 3
Best for:: A feeding moment, or a guilt-heavy day about feeding

How to practise

The fourth trimester asks a lot of a person in a short time. This episode holds feeding your baby any way, free of guilt; nourishing yourself too, without asking you to perform gratitude or bounce back on cue.

Feeding is one of the places new parents carry the most guilt, whatever method they use or wish they could use. This practice holds every way of feeding as equally valid, breast, bottle, formula, expressed, combination, or tube, and gently refuses the pressure and comparison. It also remembers the other half of the phrase: you need to be fed and cared for too.

Find a position that supports you (seated or feeding; lying down). 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 3. It fits best a feeding moment, or a guilt-heavy day about feeding, 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 third week.

Feeding is one of the things new parents carry the most guilt about. Whether it is going the way you hoped, or not at all the way you hoped, the worry and the comparison can be heavy.

So let's say this clearly, first. However you feed your baby, by breast, by bottle, by formula, by expressing, by a mix, by tube, you are feeding your baby. That is what matters, and it is enough. And today is also about the other half of the phrase: being fed. Because you need care and nourishment too. Let's begin.

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Let's begin by letting your body settle.

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Find a position that supports you. You might be feeding your baby right now, or resting between feeds. Either way, let your shoulders soften and let yourself be supported.

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Let your eyes close, if that feels okay. If you are watching your baby, let your gaze stay soft.

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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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Whatever feeding looks like for you, let go, just for now, of the picture of how it was supposed to be. There is no single right way. The way that gets your baby fed, and keeps you both as well as possible, is the right way for you. Full stop.

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If there is grief in your feeding story, for a way it did not work out, that grief is real and it is allowed. And it does not mean you are failing your baby. You are feeding them, and you are loving them, and those are the things that matter.

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Now let's turn a little of that care toward you. You pour so much into feeding this small person. But you cannot pour from an empty cup. You need feeding too. Real food, water, rest, moments of being looked after rather than always doing the looking after.

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So let this be a small reminder. Being fed and cared for is not a luxury you have to earn. It is part of how you keep going. You deserve to be nourished, in every sense, just as your baby does.

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Now, three quiet truths. Let each one land in the body.

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The first. However I feed my baby, I am feeding my baby.

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Notice where you feel that, if anywhere.

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The second. Caring for myself is part of caring for them.

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Let it settle.

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And the last. I deserve to be nourished too.

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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, with the guilt set down and a little care turned toward you.

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

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Let your eyes open slowly, if they were closed.

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And let someone care for you a little today, too.

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That is the end of this practice.

If feeding is hard, or painful, or worrying in any way, you do not have to struggle through it alone. Your midwife, health visitor, or an infant feeding supporter can help, with practical guidance and without judgement. Asking for feeding help is wise, not weak.

We will meet again next week.

FAQ

When should I listen to Postpartum Week 3?: This practice is designed for a feeding moment, or a guilt-heavy day about feeding, 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

The Long Nights, Postpartum week 2
The 3am Hour, Postpartum week 4
Read the full guide

Practise with the full toolkit in the app

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