A Happy, Healthy Mom

The demands of motherhood can quietly deplete your body and mind. This science-based, reassuring guide will help you restore your energy, balance, and well-being, so you can be the Mom you want to be. As a mother, you are carrying more than ever: work, home, constant demands, chronic sleep loss, and the invisible mental load of keeping everything running. Taking care of your needs often feels impossible. From Rick Hanson, PhD, clinical psychologist; Jan Hanson, LAc, nutrition specialist; and Ricki Pollycove, MD, gynecologist-obstetrician, A Happy, Healthy Mom offers a compassionate roadmap to help moms get the rest, nutrition, help, and comfort they need. This comprehensive guide addresses the full range of physical, psychological, and relationship challenges that can peak in the demanding early years from infancy through elementary school. Inside, you'll learn how to: - Tune into your own body and needs with zero judgement or self-blame - Solve common hormonal, mood, or gastrointestinal problems - Protect yourself from stress and stop irritability before it starts - Restore important minerals drained by pregnancy and breastfeeding - Increase teamwork and emotional intimacy with your partner - Return to a normal sleep cycle after your child is sleeping through the night - Eat healthy meals that take only minutes to prepare - Request the right medical tests at the right time Far too many mothers are physically, mentally, and emotionally depleted, which can overshadow the deeply rewarding experience of motherhood. Featuring stories from real mothers, this book will ensure that you thrive—not just survive—while taking care of your little one.

Rick Hanson, PhD, is a psychologist, senior fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times bestselling author. Altogether, his seven books have been published in 33 languages and include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture, with over a million copies sold in English alone. He’s the founder of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as the cohost of the Being Well podcast, which has been downloaded over 25 million times. He offers free newsletters, and his online programs have scholarships available for those with financial needs. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on CBS, NPR, the BBC, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. He and his wife live in northern California and have two adult children. He loves the wilderness and taking a break from emails.