Newbies host Kaile Garcia discusses sleep tips for new mothers with Carissa Gustafson [https://www.drcarissagustafson.com/] a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in perinatal mental health.
Gustafson shares her own experiences with gestational diabetes, a traumatic first birth involving breech presentation and nuchal cord, and subsequent pregnancy losses before having her second child.
The conversation emphasizes sleep as a key factor in postpartum mood regulation, including the importance of “anchor sleep” (about four consecutive hours), creating a sleep plan for mom, and building support through partners, family, night help, or shifts especially when breastfeeding.
They cover how anxiety, hypervigilance, and doom scrolling can prevent sleep, when to seek therapy or medication, and practical routines like an hour-long wind-down, avoiding screens, meditation/body scans, journaling, gentle movement, reading, and magnesium lotion.
Gustafson offers a free postpartum guide [https://www.drcarissagustafson.com/resources], an online ACT-based course (Reclaim Your Life After Birth [https://www.drcarissagustafson.com/postpartum-mental-health-course]), and individual therapy for California residents.
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