During pregnancy, your body changed a lot. It worked really hard to keep your baby safe and healthy. Now that your baby is here, your body is changing again. Some of these changes are physical, such as your breasts getting full of milk. Other changes are emotional, such as feeling extra stress. Here's what you can expect.
The perineum is the area between your vagina and rectum. It stretches during labor and vaginal birth, and it may even tear. It often is sore after you give birth. You may be even more sore if you had an episiotomy (a cut made at the opening of the vagina to help the baby out). Here's what you can do to manage perineum soreness:
These are cramps that you feel as your uterus shrinks back to its regular size. Right after you give birth, your uterus is round and hard and weighs over 1kg. By about 6 weeks after birth, it weighs only 50gr. The cramps should go away in a few days. Ask your doctor about over-the-counter medicine you can take for pain.
A C-section (cesarean section) is major surgery, so it may take a while for you to recover. You may be really tired for the first few days or weeks after a C-section. This is because you lost blood during the surgery. Also, your incision (the cut on your belly) may be sore. Here's what you can do:
This is bodily fluid that comes out of your vagina. It is also called lochia. Vaginal discharge may increase during and after pregnancy. After your baby is born, your body gets rid of the blood and tissue that was inside of the uterus. For the first few days, it’s heavy, bright red and may contain some blood clots. Over time, the flow gets less and lighter in color. You may have discharge for a few weeks, or even for a month or more. Use sanitary pads until the vaginal discharge goes away.
This is when you breasts swell as they fill with milk. It can be painful. Once you start breastfeeding, it should go away. If you’re not breastfeeding, it may last until your breasts stop making milk. Click here for ways to manage breast engorgement.
If you are breastfeeding, you may have sensitivity or pain in the area in and around your nipples during the first few days, especially if your nipples crack. Click here for ways to manage nipple pain. But breastfeeding shouldn’t be painful; if it is there is likely a problem with baby’s latch; click here to see how to get a good latch.
Lots of women have swelling in their hands, feet and face during pregnancy. It is caused by extra fluids in your body that helped you get ready for labor and birth. It may take time for the swelling to go away after you have your baby. Here's what you can do to manage swelling:
Hemorrhoids are painful, swollen veins in and around the anus. Lots of women get them during pregnancy. They may get worse after giving birth. Here's what you can do to manage hemorrhoids:
This is when you have painful gas or trouble having a bowel movement. It may happen after you give birth. Here's what you can do to manage constipation:
You may feel pain or burning when you urinate. Or you may try to urinate but find that you can’t. Sometimes you may not be able to stop urinating; this is called incontinence. If you have pain, burning trouble urinating or you have incontinence:
This happens a lot to new moms, especially at night. It’s caused by all the hormones in your body after pregnancy. Here's what you can do:
You may have lost blood during labor and birth. This can make your body tired. And your baby probably doesn’t let you sleep all night. Here's what you can do:
If you're not breastfeeding, your period may start again in 6-8 weeks after giving birth. If you are breastfeeding, you may not start again for months. Some women don’t have a period again until they stop breastfeeding. It’s possible that you may ovulate (release an egg) before you get your period again. This means you could get pregnant, whether you're breastfeeding or not. Use birth control to help make sure you don’t get pregnant again until you’re ready. If you’re breastfeeding, ask your doctor about which birth control to use as not all kinds are safe when breastfeeding.
Now’s a great time to get to a healthy weight, no matter how much you weighed before you got pregnant. You feel better and are less likely to have health conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure, if you’re at a healthy weight. And just in case you get pregnant again, or if you plan to have another baby sometime in the future, it’s best to be at a healthy weight before your next pregnancy. Here's what you can do to lose weight:
You may have stretch marks on your belly, thighs, breasts and bottom where your skin stretched during pregnancy. Use creams or lotions on your skin to manage stretch marks.
Your hair may have seemed thicker and fuller during pregnancy. After your baby is born, your hair may thin out. You may even lose hair. Hair loss usually stops about 3-4 months after your baby’s birth. Here's what you can do:
We offer free classes across Kosovo at our Mom's Class Centers (Women’s Health Resource Centers).
Find your local class here.
Free classes
At Beba-ks we give you the facts so you can make the right choices for you and your family. You won’t read opinion or rumor here, only the latest in evidence-based information taken from leading sources around the world and in Kosovo. Brought to you by Action for Mothers and Children (AMC).
© 2016 beba-ks.com
