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Preparing for your postpartum Confinement during Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year can be exciting but also emotionally complicated.

In this special episode of The Postpartum Wellness Show, Dr Kristal Lau explores how to navigate Confinement during the festive season, especially when family expectations, cultural traditions, and FOMO all intersect.

She discusses boundaries with elders, the emotional realities of postpartum recovery, and practical ways to still participate in celebrations while prioritizing healing and well-being.

This episode is especially helpful for new parents who are navigating their postpartum Confinement month during this festive season.

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Why festive seasons can create pressure for new parents
• Navigating expectations from elders and extended family
• The emotional load of boundary setting during postpartum
• Understanding FOMO during cultural celebrations
• How food traditions and confinement practices may conflict
• Practical ways to celebrate CNY & LNY while prioritizing recovery

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QUOTES

“Your confinement period is just this one time. The festive season comes every year.”

“You enter postpartum depleted in every single way, so protecting your rest matters.”

“The whole point of confinement is to rest. That includes resting mentally and emotionally.”

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RESOURCES MENTIONED

Award-winning book Postpartum 30 by Dr Kristal Lau - Chapter 3: Managing Expectations and Setting Boundaries in the Postpartum Year

Available via online retailers (link below!)

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CONNECT WITH DR KRISTAL LAU!

• Website: Bridges In Health
• Buy My Book! 'Postpartum 30: Thirty Days To A Nurtured Fourth Trimester'
• YouTube @drkristallau
• Instagram @mamaswingwoman
• LinkedIn @kristallau

Drop us a comment! Note: If you submit a comment, you agree that we have the right to publish it on all our digital platforms. Thank you!

Let's talk about why the First 1000 Days of Life matter not just for children—but for parents, postpartum care, and the future of families.

In this episode of The Postpartum Wellness Show, Dr Kristal Lau explores the first 1000 days of life concept of early childhood development and explains why postpartum care must be part of this critical window.

This episode connects science, lived experience, and common sense to challenge the status quo that postpartum is still treated as an afterthought. Dr Lau reframes postpartum care for parents as central to early childhood development.

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• What the first 1000 days of life actually mean
• How postpartum fits directly into early childhood development
• The intergenerational impact of stress, disadvantage, and biology
• What children truly need to thrive beyond nutrition
• Why supporting parents is essential to supporting children
• How clinicians and caregivers can apply a two-year postpartum lens today

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QUOTES

“Children are like sponges. Even before they can speak or really process a bunch of stuff that’s happening, their nervous system can already sense and read the room.”

“If we’re not able to give parents both education support and the confidence to feel like they can do the job, then how are they supposed to provide a stable and responsive and loving type of nervous system output for their children?”

“When we’re not able to love ourselves and care for ourselves as parents, there’s a high chance that kids pick up the message that being a parent must be terrible.”

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P.S. The free membership resource hub is still in development. Check back soon for the link!

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Episode Links:

• My email: contact@bridgesinhealth.com
• The First 1000 Days of Life RCH Melbourne

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CONNECT WITH DR KRISTAL LAU!

• Website: Bridges In Health
• Buy My Book! 'Postpartum 30: Thirty Days To A Nurtured Fourth Trimester'
• YouTube @drkristallau
• Instagram @mamaswingwoman
• LinkedIn @kristallau

Drop us a comment! Note: If you submit a comment, you agree that we have the right to publish it on all our digital platforms. Thank you!

Learn why the clinical definition of postpartum as “six to eight weeks” is outdated, where this timeframe possibly came from, and why redefining postpartum as a two-year period is critical for parents, families, and long-term population health.

In this episode, Dr Kristal Lau breaks down the science, history, and lived experience behind postpartum recovery, briefly explains what the 2023 Lancet maternal health series revealed, and makes the case for extending postpartum care to align with the first 1000 days of life.

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• The current clinical definition of postpartum and why it falls short
• What the Lancet maternal health series revealed about postpartum complications
• The overlooked role of lived experience in postpartum care
• Where the six-to-eight-week postpartum timeframe likely originated
• Why redefining postpartum as a two-year period makes clinical and public-health sense
• How the first 1000 days of life framework supports this shift

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QUOTES

“The majority of health problems after childbirth start after the six-to-eight-week mark.”

“We rely so heavily on evidence-based data that we forget women have been telling us this for generations.”

“If we don’t change how we define postpartum, no amount of money will fix postpartum or birth-rate problems.”

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P.S. The free membership resource hub is still in development. Check back soon for the link!

-----------------------------------------------------------

CONNECT WITH DR KRISTAL LAU!

• Website: Bridges In Health
• Buy My Book! 'Postpartum 30: Thirty Days To A Nurtured Fourth Trimester'
• YouTube @drkristallau
• Instagram @mamaswingwoman
• LinkedIn @kristallau