Inside the Survivor’s Guide
Self-Care and Other Resources
Self-care is caring for your mind, body, and spirit with dedicated actions to reduce stress and increase wellness. Self-care is essential for AFE survivors.
What is Self-Care and Why it’s Important
We’ve all heard the airline rules to “put your oxygen mask on first, then place it on your children.” It’s simple and potentially life-saving advice that is an easy metaphor for self-care. It can be challenging to carve time out for yourself. Especially with recovering from your AFE and are caring for your baby or are grieving. Often our, and our babies’, healthcare needs are the priority. This leaves little time to focus on the emotional and or spiritual recovery.
The National Institute for Mental Health says, “Although self-care is not a cure for mental illnesses it can play a role in maintaining your mental health and help support your treatment and recovery”.
Self-Care Activities
- Breathe in fresh air
- Snuggle under a cozy blanket
- Mindful coloring
- Take a hot shower or a warm bath
- Go for a walk or drive
- Cuddle with a pet
- Burn a scented candle
- Stare up at the sky or clouds
- Take a nap
- Listen to music
- Write in a journal
- Spend time in nature
- Pray
- Call a friend
- Stretch
AFE Reflective Color Page
Self-Care Apps
Birth and Trauma Book Recommendations
- The Body Keeps Score
- More Than a Healthy Baby
- Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts
- Option B
- The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog
- Walking the Tiger
- Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Interrupted
- The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse
- Birth Trauma: A Guide for You, Family and Friends
- Why Birth Matters
- How to Heal a Bad Birth
- Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy, and Childbirth
- Killing the Black Body
- MotheringThrough Pain