Sometimes it takes a moment of pure connection to remind us just how incredible our postpartum or otherwise bodies truly are.
My sister recently gave birth to her beautiful daughter, but complications meant her precious baby had to be transferred to Riley Hospital for Children and placed on a ventilator. In those first crucial hours after birth, my sister waited – her heart full of love but her ears longing for the one sound that would make everything feel real: her baby’s cry.
Thankfully, just two days later, when her daughter was finally extubated and took a breath on her own, that cry rang out. And in that instant, something magical happened.
It wasn’t just tears that flowed from my sister; it was like her entire postpartum body suddenly remembered exactly what it was designed to do. Her milk came rushing in. Every cell seemed to awaken with purpose. After hours of uncertainty, her body felt different. Like it had been waiting for that precise moment, that specific sound, to flip the switch from pregnancy to motherhood.
Our bodies know.
Even when we’re separated from our babies by medical necessity, even when the birth doesn’t go as planned, even when we can’t hold them right away – our bodies are still intricately connected to our children. That cry, that first sound of life, can trigger cascades of hormonal responses that have been waiting patiently in the wings.
The letdown reflex responds to a baby’s hunger cues. The way our heart rate syncs when we hold our newborns. The instant recognition our body has of our child’s specific needs.
It’s not just about milk production or physical healing – though those are miraculous enough. It’s about the way our bodies carry this ancient wisdom. Even in the most challenging circumstances, even when modern medicine must intervene, our postpartum bodies remember their purpose.
To every mama reading this: trust your body’s intelligence. Whether your journey into motherhood was smooth or complicated, whether your baby came home immediately or needed extra care, whether everything went according to plan or took unexpected turns – your body knows how to mother. It’s been preparing for this role for months, and it won’t stop advocating for both you and your baby.
That first cry isn’t just your baby’s announcement to the world. It’s your body’s wake-up call, the moment when all systems align and motherhood truly begins – no matter how long the wait, no matter the circumstances that brought you to that moment.
Our bodies are not just amazing during pregnancy and labor. They’re phenomenal in those critical, vulnerable, transformative days and weeks that follow. Trust the process. Trust the connection. Trust the incredible wisdom that lives within you.
Welcome, earthside, sweet baby girl. And to my sis, congratulations! Your body knew exactly what it was doing all along. 💕
Sending love and prayers for continued healing to all the families navigating the NICU journey. You are stronger than you know.
