Feel empowered to become the mother you want to be.

From birth to your baby's first steps, this soothing book will support you to open your heart to the highs and lows of mothering and adjust to your new role. It offers everyday meditations and visualisations, postnatal yoga, natural remedies, and nutritional advice to help you care for yourself with the same love and commitment you give your precious baby.

As a new mum, you may secretly wonder: "Am I up to the job?" With pressure on mums to parent perfectly and "bounce back" effortlessly and unsupported, all amid sleep deprivation, and brain, body, and relationship changes, it's no surprise women struggle. You are not alone.

Compassionate, evidence-based psychological ideas from clinical psychologist and mum, Dr Caroline Boyd, will ground you amid the storms, enhancing everyday connections to you, your baby, and the world around you both.

"Compassionate and powerful tools are delivered in such an accessible way. I hope this book finds its way into the hands of every new mum." - Anna Mathur, Sunday Times bestselling author of Know Your Worth and Mind over Mother.

This holistic book will help you understand:

- Significant brain, body, and identity shifts during this transformation known as "matrescence".
- The intense, emotional rollercoaster of this first year - explaining what can shape your ideas of the "good" mum, and why experiencing feelings such as anger and anxiety doesn't make you a "bad" mother.
- Why it's important to learn to self-soothe, with practical psychological strategies to help you nurture yourself, as well as soothe your baby.
- Why couple dynamics shift with the arrival of a baby, and ways to stay connected.
- How to use your values to guide your decision-making, making choices that fit for your family.

Caroline offers gentle, realistic advice with a focus on mindful compassion - supporting you to develop a kinder relationship with yourself. She offers natural remedies to help manage interrupted sleep and strong emotions, healthy foods to boost energy and improve low mood, affirmations to soothe and support, and mini-meditations and longer meditative practices to calm and centre you and to share with your baby. Enjoy gentle, targeted yoga, with your baby and alone, to ease the aches and pains of early motherhood and build strength and flexibility. Use mindful massage to bond with your baby and nourish your body.

Mindful New Mum will help you find more head and heart space - empowering you to become the mum you want to be.

About the Author
Clinical psychologist Dr Caroline Boyd has an MA in classics, MSc in psychology, and a doctorate in clinical psychology. She has over 10 years' experience working in the NHS and mental health settings, and specializes in supporting new parents in her independent psychology practice, Parent Therapy Hub. Caroline works with parents from pregnancy to childbirth and beyond. She adopts a holistic approach to wellbeing, and her published research explores mothers' experiences of intrusive thoughts about their babies. Caroline speaks at conferences, including the annual Birth Trauma conference, and shares psychology ideas on Instagram, her blog, and podcasts such as Motherkind to help parents feel more connected - to themselves and their children - and less alone.You can follow Caroline on Instagram @_drboyd

Reviews
Mindful New Mum is a brilliant resource for any new mum wanting to feel more confident, connected and calm at undoubtedly one of the most challenging times in our lives. Caroline's expert yet warm voice feels like a hug from a really wise friend. I highly recommend this book. -- Zoe Blaskey * Founder of Motherkind *
Caroline's book is full of intelligent suggestions about making the transition into motherhood more peaceful. -- Clover Stroud * Bestselling author of My Wild and Sleepless Nights *
I love the soothing toolkit that Caroline shares, both relatable and accessible, spanning nervous system hacks to core values. The weaving of stories throughout makes this a validating, reassuring read, helping mothers feel more understood and less alone. A book to gift every mother. -- Suzy Reading * Clinical Psychologist & Bestselling Author of The Self-Care Revolution *
I recommend this book to any new mum. This is a really helpful book to learn how to take care of yourself when parenting a new baby which in turn helps the new baby. -- Julia Samuel MBE * Psychotherapist & Best-selling Author of This Too Shall Pass and Grief Works *
Like a warm hug for new mums, with comforting reminders that taking care of their needs is at the heart of parenting, alongside usable prompts for how to do this. -- Dr Emma Hepburn * Clinical Psychologist AKA The Psychology Mum. *
Great new book. -- Karen Kleiman * Founder of the Postpartum Stress Centre *
Fantastic book to help new mums, with a focus on intrusive thoughts. -- Clemmie Telford * Author of But Why *
This book offers an accessible and informative combination of compassionate thinking and self-care, mindfulness, understanding a baby's development and how to think and cope with the psychological ups and downs of being a parent. A must read for all parents with babies. -- Dr Helen Sharples * Parent-Infant Clinical Psychologist *
Mindful New Mum is a hug in a book for anyone who's recently had a baby. A brilliant mix of practical advice as well as some more holistic practices, all aimed to help someone slow down and breathe when they otherwise might not feel able. Really brilliant, and great to have an expert who encourages and shows mums how to listen to themselves at a time when they are being bombarded." - Steph Douglas, Founder of Don't Buy Her Flowers. -- Steph Douglas * Founder of Don't Buy Her Flowers *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241531365
Author Dr Caroline Boyd, DClinPsy
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint DK
Publisher Dorling Kindersley Ltd
Weight(grams) 678g
Dimensions(mm) 225mm * 178mm * 23mm