Be The Villager

We are constantly telling women, in particular, to find their village postpartum. This is a crock of shit and bollocks for a variety of reasons, but there is some truth under it - we are NOT meant to do it alone. But, how are we meant to find a true village of people to support us when the vast majority of us never meet face-to-face, our lives and communities virtual, rather than in real life?

Here are some Suggestions:
1. Join a prenatal or postpartum yoga or movement class. These classes are usually more designed to create community, rather than a class focused on getting “into shape”, with prenatal classes as helpful way to move and breathe as practice for labor and postpartum classes helpful in bringing people together after birth. This can be a great way to form connections with people in your area.

2. Join a parenting group. Here in the PNW PEPs groups are common. These groups are usually neighborhood and gestational-age based and are started in pregnancy through the first year of postpartum. These can be great ways to connect with folks in your area and for your little ones to form social relationships as well.

3. Seek out mothers/parents in your friend group. If there are people with children under 5, they are usually really great resources for a plethora of helpful things from advice to baby gear. It can be refreshing for both the older postpartum parent and the newly postpartum parent to see/remember the spectrum of the experience.

What other ways have you practiced being both the village and a villager?