Postpartum recovery.

In society there is much pressure on mothers that they should ‘bounce back’ so quickly after childbirth. We forget that there are many area’s of our bodies physically that need to heal after birth, not to mention the emotional and physiological changes we need to adjust to.

 It is okay (& actually important) that you prioritize yourself and your baby in the first few weeks following birth. There will be some discomforts (whether that is after a  vaginal delivery or a caesarean section) so I’ve put together some tips for those first few days to hopefully ease some of those discomforts  below ;)

·      Rest!! Often labour can be like a marathon on our bodies. Be kind to yourself, take the pressure off & take time to recover. Stay in bed, cuddle your baby and embrace the fourth trimester (more to come on this soon).

 ·      Eat well & drink plenty. Having all the snacks ready to go will be a life-saver when you are feeding lots in those early days. You will often be much thirstier when breastfeeding too so always have water bottles ready when you’re feeding and for in between. Try and pre-make and freeze some meals when you’re pregnant and don’t turn down any meals people may want to bring you.

 ·      Disposable underwear or adult diapers are helpful. After birth, your placenta detaches from your uterus leaving a wound the size of a plate. As your uterus contracts after birth this reduces the bleeding but this will continue on for up to 6 weeks. The first few days will be heavy so having something that can hold a lot is useful.  

 ·      Ibuprofen and Panadol for afterpains. These are both safe and can also ease discomfort of perineal or abdominal pain if you had a c-section.

 ·      Heat pack / hot water bottle for afterpains.

 ·      High waisted underwear and ensure they are large enough to hold a big pad in those first few days. Having them high waisted are great especially if you have had a c-section so nothing pushes on your wound.

 ·      Nursing pillow to take pressure of your tummy (especially after a c-section).

 ·      Adjustable waist / hip support after birth (often a smiley belt can work well). Feeling support through your pelvis, hips and stomach helps for many women & encourages everything to go ack efficiently to where it is needed.

Taking care of your perineum:

Some women do not experience any tearing or grazing of the skin after birth but will still feel tender, swollen or bruised. Others may experience tears and some episiotomies. For most women, these heal very well after birth thanks to it being very vascular down there! There are some things you can do to aide healing:

·      Change your pads frequently after birth to keep the area as clean as you can (remember to not use tampons in the first 6 weeks after birth to reduce the risk of infection to your uterus).

·      Use frozen pads. Soak with some water (you can add witch hazel too) & then freeze. These often make a bruised, swollen or tender perineum much more comfortable in the first 2-3 days following birth.

·      A witch hazel based perineal spray to aid healing works wonders! There are many brands out there or recipes to make your own!

·      Arnica drops or spray internally to aid the body in healing (to reduce bruising, and stimulate tissue repair).

·      Warm baths can be relieving (you can also use a Sitz bath or bath soak with herbs and essential oils).

·      Hypercal healing cream or lotion by Weleda

·      Use a squeeze bottle to pour warm water on your perineum when you pass urine; this most helpful if you have had an episiotomy or tear.

·      Ural sachets to reduce the acidity in your urine. Drink this straight after birth and continue a few times a day.

·      Donut cushion to sit on if you’re finding it difficult to be seated.

Taking care of your c-section wound:

It is obviously normal to experience pain after major abdominal surgery. I won’t go into detail about surgery recovery at this stage but will more touch on the wound healing itself.

There are different methods of how your incision will be held together and covered after a c-section. Some Dr’s use staples, others use stitches that need to be removed or you may have dissolvable stitches. Your LMC will keep an eye on the healing of this over the postpartum period.

 ·      If you have a good compression dressing I encourage women to leave this on as long as they can. Pressure against the scar can aide in healing.

·      Once your dressing is off – keep it clean and air/dry it out often.

·      If you need to cough or are laughing a lot, hold a pillow over your incision.

·      You can use warm, soapy water to clean the area daily. Pat the area dry gently after cleaning.

·      Often wearing a pad across the incision can be comfortable once it has healed a little. You don’t want your underwear rubbing on the area.

·      Be cautious with what you are lifting (nothing heavier than your baby)!

·      When the wound is well healed, using an oil or cream to aide in the scar healing well is beneficial.

Taking care of your breasts:

We have written an in depth blog on this here, from pregnancy preparation, prevention and healing tips; but here is an idea of some of the top products:

·      Hydrogel breast discs are incredible to help damaged nipples heal (pop in the fridge or freezer for even better relief, and cut them in half so they go a little further).

·      Lanolin cream

·      Gel pads that are either warm or cold to help relieve fullness or pain.

·      Cabbage leaves (from the fridge) to help with engorgement.