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.

When You're Touched Out

Postpartum week 6

0:00−6:10

Background sound

Duration:: 6 min
Stage:: Postpartum · Postpartum week 6
Best for:: When you are touched out, overstimulated, with nothing left to give

How to practise

The fourth trimester asks a lot of a person in a short time. This episode holds care for the carer; the right to space, without guilt, without asking you to perform gratitude or bounce back on cue.

When you are held, fed from, leaned on, and needed around the clock, it is natural to reach a point where your own body feels like it has no room left. Being touched out is real and common, and it does not mean you love your baby any less. This practice gives you permission to need space, and a few minutes to refill even a little.

Find a position that supports you (seated or lying down, ideally with a little space of your own). 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 6. It fits best when you are touched out, overstimulated, with nothing left to give, 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 sixth week.

When you are needed constantly, held, fed from, leaned on, around the clock, you can reach a point where your own body feels like it has nothing left. Where even a loving touch is one touch too many. That feeling has a name. You are touched out, and it is real, and it is so common.

So today is care for the carer. A few minutes that ask nothing of your body, with no guilt for needing them. Let's begin.

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Let's begin by letting your body settle, and letting it be entirely your own for a few minutes.

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Find a position that supports you. If you can have a little physical space right now, take it. Let nothing be touching you that does not need to be.

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Let your eyes close, if that feels okay.

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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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Right now, for these few minutes, your body belongs only to you. No one is feeding from it, leaning on it, or needing it. Just feel that, the quiet of a body that is, for once, not being asked for anything.

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Being touched out is not a flaw in you, and it is not a sign that you love your baby less. It is what happens when a body gives and gives without enough refilling. Even the most loving care runs a person low if there is never a pause. Needing a pause is not selfish. It is human.

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Picture yourself as a well. You have been drawn from, again and again, day and night. A well that is constantly drawn from and never refilled runs dry. You are allowed to refill. You are allowed to need space, quiet, a moment where no one is touching you, in order to keep being able to give.

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So let this be a small refilling. Nothing being asked. Nothing being given. Just you, breathing, in a body that is your own for a little while.

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

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The first. Needing space does not make me a bad parent.

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Notice where you feel that, if anywhere.

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The second. I can love them and still need a break.

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Let it settle.

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And the last. Caring for myself lets me keep caring for them.

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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, in your own quiet space.

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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 give yourself permission to find more of these moments.

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That is the end of this practice.

Everyone who gives this much needs to refill. If you never seem to get a break, and it is becoming unbearable, that is worth saying out loud. Let the people around you take the baby for a stretch, and ask your health visitor about practical support. You are allowed to need, and to receive, real rest.

We will meet again next week.

FAQ

When should I listen to Postpartum Week 6?: This practice is designed for when you are touched out, overstimulated, with nothing left to give, 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

Becoming Someone New, Postpartum week 5
The Thoughts That Visit, Postpartum week 7
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