The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality

I bought "The Fourth Trimester" in my second pregnancy as I prepared for a hopeful VBAC. My first postpartum experience included significant emotional turmoil, difficulty bonding with my baby, and a general feeling of freefall. I’d gone into birth with a birth plan, but I had not given much thought to the postpartum period beyond gathering phone numbers for lactation specialists. I knew I needed to go in more prepared and aware the second time. When I bought this book, I expected it to help me prepare for my postpartum recovery, but I didn’t realize how much it would shape my whole approach to mothering, caring for myself, and nurturing my relationships. As soon as I started reading it, I had lots of “aha!” moments and feelings of validation about my relationship to my body, my partner, and my baby. Because of this book, I developed a deeper understanding of my own needs and was able to clarify my values. I was clearer in my communication when I let loved ones know what I would need after birth. For example, as part of my postpartum plan, I asked three close friends to call me and check on me monthly if they hadn’t heard from me. I asked them to please keep calling if I didn't get back to them because retreating socially is a symptom of depression, anxiety, and overwhelm for me. Because of "The Fourth Trimester", I gave myself the permission to shape my postpartum time in a way that felt appropriately nurturing and honoring to the gravity of bringing new life into the world. I let go of old scripts of feeling too needy, indulgent, or high maintenance. I was able to face tangled and conflicting emotions with more compassion. I loved that the book includes a helpful bullet-pointed summary at the end of each chapter, as well as reflective questions and recommended practices related to the material. Those resources allowed me to easily reflect further through journaling and conversations with other mothers, as well as with my partner. I wrote a "Postpartum Sanctuary Plan," guided by the template in the appendix. I put a copy of the plan on my fridge so that when things got challenging, I could easily remember what brings me joy and wellness and so could my partner. The "Postpartum Relationship Plan" helped my husband and me remember our sources of connection and our stress patterns. When communication faltered between us as we cared for a newborn and a toddler, the emotional prep work we'd done in my pregnancy helped us meet each other with greater understanding and empathy. The chapters "Rediscovering Your Body" and "Reclaiming Your Sexuality" were particularly impactful to me because of my history as a survivor of sexual abuse. My second postpartum experience was like night and day from my first. I felt seen, cared for, and even radiant. Yes, I did have a long road of healing ahead from a vaginal tear, but I was able to approach the healing from a place of much greater capacity and inner stability. I did not hesitate to prioritize and seek out the support I needed, including pelvic floor therapy. I truly was able to savor my fourth trimester, which has changed my life in dramatic, far-reaching ways. My glowing fourth trimester experience helped restored safety to my system in a way that 10 prior years of healing from abuse did not achieve. Almost two years after first reading it, I still keep "The Fourth Trimester" in a stack of books in my bedroom because it makes me feel better just knowing it’s there if I need it. All I need to do now is flip through it or open to any page and feel reconnected to my capacity and deep inner knowing. Near the end of "The Fourth Trimester", Kimberly Ann Johnson quotes Clarissa Pinkola Estes in saying, “You are born with one mother, but if you are lucky you will have more than one. And among them all you will find most of what you need.” Kimberly Ann Johnson has been an important mother for me, and much of what I have needed as mother I have learned from her in this book, her podcast, and her classes. My journey in motherhood would look much different without her teachings and without this book. I am forever grateful. Of all the pregnancy and mothering books I would recommend to my friends, this one tops the list as most impactful.

This is an absolute MUST-READ for all pregnant women, postpartum women, new mothers, long-time mothers who still need healing/understanding AND all the people that love them-- husbands, partners, family members, friends. It's a well-written, soulful guide to understanding and navigating the postpartum time, and covers the many aspects of the complex constellation of becoming a mother-- physical, emotional, relationships, sexual, trauma, injuries, medical problems, nutrition, holistic and effective solutions for common health issues that can arise. Kimberly Johnson has mastered the intersection of a unique combination of expertise, covering the nervous system and trauma, sexuality, pelvic injuries and pelvic health, the physiology and psychology of pregnancy, the physiology and psychology of birth, the physiology and psychology of the postpartum time, body/movement mechanics and posture, cultural consciousness around womanhood/motherhood... and more. She is absolutely brilliant! Most importantly she radically re-frames the postpartum time, challenging cultural norms (including medical norms) about what's involved, and therefore getting humanity and especially women back on track to thriving, loving, and evolving (yes!!!). Get this book for both: a revolutionary approach to motherhood, healing, womanhood, and feminism AND also a detailed easy-to-use practical guidebook to learn and understand the many challenges of a real-life postpartum experience. For me personally, this book was so affirming and healing to read. I had such a rough postpartum time with my first baby (now 2.5 years old) -- I was not prepared (I focused on the birth itself during my pregnancy rather than on the postpartum time), I didn't understand what I would need and require in terms of help and support on every level, I was shocked by the emotional turbulence I felt, I had pelvic floor weakness and prolapse, I was completely physiologically and psychologically and spiritually shattered by the experience of having a newborn and transforming into a mother. This book helps me understand that this transformation into motherhood has the potential to be a healthy and awesome rite of passage -- it will probably be intense but it doesn't have to be pathological. However, to support new mothers properly we need to revive "forgotten" information of womens' health wisdom, and we need a cultural shift. I am happy to say that I am pregnant again and planning my postpartum time with this baby much much differently. This book is my guide, and I am grateful for it.

This book is a must have for any childbirth worker, mom to be, someone that is already a mom or anyone that is interested in this topic. I wish I had known about this before I had my kids! There were so many instances where I didn’t know if what I was experiencing was normal or how to heal properly after giving birth. Kimberly is very informative, goes into great detail and includes pictures so you fully understand what she means. It even comes with little exercises throughout the book to help you with multiple things. I highly recommend this book!

I mostly enjoyed the book, and found some useful tips and advice. Some of the recommendations seemed a bit strange to me but I'm willing to believe they could work for some. What I appreciated the most was the candor about what could go wrong during or after labour, and that it's important to rest after giving birth. I probably would have been the person to start doing everything myself during maternity leave and not using the time to rest, heal and bond with my baby. I'm also the kind of person that likes preparing mentally that things could go wrong and how to go about it if it does. Far from the information making me anxious, I appreciate being told that it's not all sunshine and roses as I have been led to believe. I also think it's empowering to know that these issues are common and not to just accept the answer "it will get better with time"

As a midwife and mother of three I would highly recommend this holistic and well written book. Essential reading for any one pregnant (whether or not it's your first baby). And anyone caring for new mothers - midwives, student midwives, doulas etc. It's hard to believe this subject - of becoming a mother has never been addressed before. Kimberly is wise and has a wealth of experience. Her strength and humour shine through her writing. This truly is a holistic book and speaks of the emotional and sexual side of becoming a mother. As well as the physical changes. Well researched and based on excellent anatomical knowledge. Her coverage of sex and sexuality after birth and trauma is particularly brilliant. And something I've not seen written about in this way before. I love the way she addresses potentially wierd subjects such as vaginal steaming in a pragmatic and brilliant way. This book is a total game changer and I've learnt so much from it. As well as nodding in recognition. I hope that many people have the chance to read this book as it could truly change lives. It's that good.

This is the book mothers everywhere have been waiting for. Intuitively we have known there is something both magical and challenging about the postpartum time. Kimberly Ann Johnson has managed to express the magic and challenges a mother goes through postpartum with intelligence, perspective and profound insight, that allows a mother to feel held in such a delicate time. This book contains very practical resources from signs to post on the door for visitors to recipes, personal anecdotes to invoking questions for both mother and partner. This book expresses that though we may be prepared with a nursery, had a baby shower and bought a car seat, there is an inner landscape of a woman that needs to be nurtured and prepared before, during and after the arrival of a child. This is a gift not only to the baby and mother but to the community and beyond. I have resourced this book several times and keep it close by as a companion. Thank you Kimberly for your work in mothering the mother, allowing intimacy and sex to be part of the conversation and sharing your personal stories so we can glean some wisdom from them.

Good

Ein Muss für alle, die sich auf das Wochenbett vorbereiten wollen. Ein_e Partner_in sollte nie die einzige Unterstützung sein für diese Zeit und das Buch gibt viele praktische Tipps, wie ein Support Team aufgebaut werden kann. Dazu gibt es noch gute Infos zur Vorbereitung auf die Geburt und Anregungen für die langfristige Regeneration.

Really recommend it to every new mother! Specially in postpartum period. Hope every mother sheds light like this book through motherhood.