Rethinking Postpartum: The Quiet Power Of Women Who Choose To Rest

Lately, my feed has been full of women doing it all — building businesses, raising babies, lifting heavy, smiling wide — and doing it all with a smile. It’s empowering, yes. But somewhere beneath the glossy reels and morning routines, I started to feel a quiet unease.  Are we only celebrating women when they bounce back quickly? When they push through without pausing? Why do we applaud the woman who’s back on her feet in weeks, but ignore the one who listens to her body and decides to rest?

I’ve often found myself thinking about this — even though I haven’t experienced pregnancy, the fear creeps in. What if my partner doesn’t like my body anymore? What if I disappear from people’s lives the moment I stop showing up for them? What if nobody listens when I say I’m not okay? The pressure isn’t just on moms. It’s on women — all women — to be perfect, productive, and present. All the time.

Redefining strength in modern motherhood

We’ve created a new kind of mother — the “modern mom.” She’s strong, independent, juggling a laptop in one hand and a toddler in the other. She doesn’t rest — because resting is 'weakness' in society's eyes. Slowing down is laziness. And somewhere in making her the new poster girl of empowerment, we forgot to ask: What about her healing?

We often set invisible timeframes — two months and she should be “back to normal.” But who decided healing comes with a deadline? Every woman carries a different body, a different heart, and a different story. Some feel ready to move, others are still learning how to breathe in their new skin. But society doesn’t hand out medals for stillness — only for speed.

The phrase “bounce back” wears two faces. In its modern sense, it’s about reclaiming identity — becoming the boundary-breaking mom. In its traditional sense, it means becoming the unpaid ideal caregiver, the woman who caters to everyone at the ring of a bell, with a smile masking her exhaustion. Different outfits, same expectation: perform, not pause.

We haven’t even reached the core — the storm inside her. The hormonal crash, the emotional whiplash. But if she shows signs of breaking down? She’ll hear, “She’s not the only one who’s had a baby.” Equality, right? But it’s not equality when we only praise women who suffer silently. When a woman chooses to rest, to honour her body — the same body that just birthed a human — she’s questioned, even taunted. People love the pregnant woman. But the moment the child is born, does she stop mattering?

Even a tree, after bearing ripe fruit, rests. Autumn — the quiet shedding, the slow healing — is romanticised. Why then, is a woman’s resting period rushed, overlooked, and shamed? Why is nature given time to bloom again, but not us?

Feminism isn’t just about working around the clock. It’s also about choice. If a woman decides to tune into her body and prioritise her peace, that is empowerment too. Women aren’t machines. We are humans. Unique, diverse, and constantly evolving. Sometimes, the most powerful thing a woman can do is say, “I need rest,” and mean it.

Studies have shown that inadequate postpartum rest can increase the risk of postpartum depression, hormonal imbalances, weakened pelvic floor muscles, and long-term fatigue. The body goes through immense changes during childbirth, from hormone surges to organ displacement. Rest isn’t a luxury. It’s medical, it’s essential.

We glamorise hustle. But isn’t rest — this quiet, tender rebuilding — the real aesthetic? A body healing. A woman breathing. A mind finding peace. If that’s not strength, what is?

So, maybe it’s time we shifted the spotlight — not just to the women running marathons after birth, but also to the ones learning to walk again, slowly and with grace.

Because rest is not retreat. It’s resistance. It’s resilience. It’s the most radical love we can show to ourselves.

Views expressed by the author are their own.