The Fourth Trimester: Midwife Amelia Lamont on why setting realistic expectations is important and how to navigate this time

When it comes to pregnancy, so much goes into learning about what’s going on with your body, the baby and preparing for birth.

But it’s what comes next that can really be an adjustment no one is prepared for – coming home with your baby.

This time after birth is often called the fourth trimester, and Amelia Lamont – who is known as The Midwife Mumma – shared her advice for this new chapter of life for parents during a chat on Today Extra with co-hosts Sylvia Jeffreys and Richard Wilkins.

Watch the video above.

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“It’s an unspoken period of the first three months after you have your baby,” Lamont explained. 

She explained a lot of people have a lot of education around the pregnancy and birth, but it’s what comes next that’s new territory for a lot of new mums and dads to navigate – which was the inspiration behind her new book titled The Fourth Trimester.

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As she started to talk about the fourth trimester, Jeffreys chimed in to say it is “really hard”, having gone through it herself twice with her two boys. 

“And nothing that anyone can say to you can actually prepare you for what is to come,” she added. 

Lamont said there can be a lot more going on than just feeding struggles or sleepless nights, noting mental health and how both parents are coping is also something big to consider. 

But setting “realistic expectations” is something she believes is really important during this time. 

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Co-host Wilkins asked how can parents set themselves up well for this time in their lives and Lamont said her biggest tip is to make life easier for yourself. 

“Like basic things prior to birth like meal prepping, organising what we’re gonna do after the baby comes,” she said. 

“It doesn’t have to be this big song and dance, you don’t need all the fancy prams and fancy bassinets.

“Keeping life simple and visitors to a minimum while you recover. Setting realistic expectations is what it’s all about.” 

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Jeffreys mentioned the partner kind of gets left with being the “gate keeper” when it comes to visitors, and Lamont noted sometimes they’re the one who gets forgotten in this time too. 

“They are as much of a part in the fourth trimester as the mum and the baby,” she said. 

But when it comes to settling in at home in those first few days with a new baby, even Lamont – who’s a mum of four herself – admitted it doesn’t get easier with your next baby. 

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Her big piece of advice is to just surrender yourself to doing nothing. 

It’ll be a big few days of feeding the baby or being on the couch and trying to recover, so do it. 

Watch what she had to say and her advice about letting your village help during this time in the video at the top of this article.

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