When a mother says she doesn’t want visitors after her child is born, many people judge her as “difficult,” “fussy,” and even with other names not worth repeating. However, what most people don’t know is that this behavior is called the milk moon and is highly beneficial for both mother and baby.

What Is the Milk Moon?

The milk moon, just like a honeymoon, is a period during which mother and baby stay together without visitor interference or too many people around. After 9 months of waiting, it’s time for mother and child to get to know each other. For the baby, it’s a completely new world compared to what it knew inside the mother’s womb. Sounds, smells, lights, all scare and confuse the baby. For the mother, there are new sensations, pain, breastfeeding, and caring for the baby. The milk moon is the moment when they get to know one another, touch each other, spending time skin to skin. They experience the new, the unknown, and learn together. The last thing to worry about is visitors, a tidy house, or even brushed hair.

How Long Does the Milk Moon Last?

There is no set time for the milk moon because this varies greatly from one mother to another, ranging between one and three months. Knowing this, it’s always a good idea to ask the mother to let you know when she feels more adjusted and ready to receive visitors.

Benefits of the Milk Moon

The benefits of the milk moon are numerous for both baby and mother, as it’s a time for both to get to know each other and learn together. Skin-to-skin contact is essential to strengthening the bond between mother and baby, and this happens intensely in the first month of the child’s life, especially when it comes to breastfeeding, which is why this phase is called the milk moon. At just one month, the baby is also in exterogestation, a stage where they feel very comfortable recalling what it was like in the mother’s belly. Thus, the mother’s touch makes the baby feel more comforted and secure living outside the womb.

What Can I Do During the Milk Moon?

  • In the first few weeks, a mother should be relieved of all responsibilities except feeding the baby and caring for herself. Don’t hesitate to accept help during this phase. In the postpartum period, the father can prepare meals, take messages, or help take care of other children.
  • Get as much sleep as possible. The baby may wake up every two to three hours to feed. Sleep when the baby sleeps. This might be just a few minutes of rest several times a day, but those minutes add up.
  • Keep the baby’s crib close to yours for nighttime feeds. Sometimes mothers during the milk moon opt for co-sleeping, but it’s important to remember extra care is necessary if you choose this practice. Many babies can suffer from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
  • Maintain a healthy diet to recover faster, and as a bonus, increase milk production. Increase your intake of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and proteins. You should also drink more fluids, especially if you are breastfeeding.
  • Spend as much time as possible with your baby; that’s the whole point of the milk moon. Watch every detail, every movement they make. Getting to know your baby is key to noticing any problems that may arise and acting quickly.

Is the Milk Moon the Same as Quarantine?

From a practical standpoint, it’s hard to pinpoint where one ends and the other begins. Theoretically, the milk moon is the time to build a bond with the baby and spend as much time together as possible, but within this period, there is all the necessary care for proper recovery and learning for both mother and baby (quarantine). So it’s quite hard to notice this subtle transition apart from the terminology used.

Quarantine

By definition, quarantine, confinement or the puerperium are the terms attributed to the period between the expulsion of the placenta (the third stage of labor) and the first six to eight weeks after childbirth. Just as in the milk moon, beyond caring for the baby, the mother needs to care for herself. Soon, her body will return to its pre-pregnancy form, hormone levels will stabilize, pain will subside, and she’ll have more energy. Quarantine is a time of changes, of returning to normal. The changes brought about by pregnancy, especially physical ones, are mostly temporary, so women who maintain a balanced diet during pregnancy and don’t gain too much weight know that after delivery, it’s possible to recover previous vitality and physique. One positive aspect of quarantine is the body’s involution. The body returns to its natural state in a short time after giving birth. The uterus, for example, returns to its natural size (6.5 cm and 60 grams in weight) after being approximately 32 centimeters and about 1000 grams during pregnancy. This results in proper resumption of bowel function. Before the baby, during pregnancy, most women experience urinary leakage because the baby presses on the bladder and also constipation as hormones slow down the digestive tract. Furthermore, the return of vaginal secretions allows sex to be more comfortable and less painful. It is important to note that during quarantine there is also a chance of getting pregnant. Although quarantine is a necessary and mandatory period for women after childbirth, it also has some negative consequences that make these weeks tough for the new mother. During this time, women sometimes experience what’s called postpartum depression. This feeling of sadness comes after realizing she no longer has the baby inside and that her body is no longer the same. Some of the most significant changes are weight gain, breast size, cracked nipples from breastfeeding, and skin with stretch marks and looseness after the belly was stretched. These changes make the woman feel uncomfortable, not pretty, and certainly not confident. In many cases, after birth, she develops a negative attitude about this new situation and feels it’s impossible to return to how she looked before motherhood. The milk moon and quarantine are extremely important periods for the new mother, so don’t let criticism, even constructive, make this period of discovery and recovery a negative one. Also see: Initial Difficulties and Solutions for Breastfeeding Photos: Petr Kratochvil