Recovery path for Postpartum health

 

It is very much normal to feel that your body is not healing as quickly as you want, as postpartum recovery has its own challenges.

                                    

I would suggest certain things foe healthy recovery through postpartum.

·        Drink plenty of water.

·        Take rest as much as you can.

·        Nourish your body with a well balanced diet.

·        Craving for all types of street food (pani puri, aloo tikki, choley….the list goes on….), you can have them but make it at home.

·        To reduce abdominal pain and lower backache, apply hot water bag, hot water bottle to that region.

·        Try to confide in a friend or family member, when you are feeling sad. This is a common condition in new moms called baby blues or postpartum blues.

·        Constipation is very common following childbirth. To ease it, drink lots of water, eat fiber rich foods like fruits, salads. But if you haven’t had a bowel movement for 3-4 days, always seek consultation from your doctor.

·        Use an icepack several times a day for 10 minutes for relieving perineum soreness in case of vaginal delivery.

·        It is common to experience soreness of nipples and breasts in first few days but if persists, it may be your baby not latching properly.Try changing positions while feeding and ensure proper attachment of baby, also can apply foremilk to the sore area before feeding baby.

·        For stitches, it will take around 12 -14 days if in perineal area and 4-5 weeks to complete heal for C- section. There is no need to remove them (except in certain cases of C-section) they will absorb over time. Gently clean with warm water and pat it dry to prevent getting infected.

·        Use sanitary pad only for vaginal bleeding and discharge, refrain from tampoons or menstrual cup as they can introduce infection.

There are certain warning signs when you need to immediately consult:

                     1.        Excessive heavy vaginal bleeding that soaks more than one pad in an hour or is increasing day by day.

                     2.        Passing large clots.

                     3.        Fever more than 100.4 F

                     4.        Fainting or dizziness.

                     5.        Continuous severe headache or blurring of vision.

                     6.        Painful or difficulty in urination.

                     7.        Strong odour vaginal discharge.

                     8.        Chest pain or breathing difficulty.

                     9.        Stitchline becomes red, swollen, has discharge.

                  10.      Sore breasts with change in skin colour and hot to touch.

                  11.      Pain in legs with swelling and redness.

                        

 

  Your strength is always greater than any struggle!

Debunking MYTHS about POSTPARTUM

 Sorry for the delay, but I am back with yet another myths busting blog.

                         

There is enormous cultural pressure to have the body look and feel the same after pregnancy and childbirth, with this narrative about “getting your body back” though presented as a focus on health but there is nothing healthy about the expectation that your body will be unchanged by birthing a baby. There is this overwhelming pressure getting in the way of feeling good and taking care of yourself while juggling the new demands of parenthood.

                      All pregnant women and would be mothers, you all need to realise that you just made a human being, which is pretty incredible thing to have done. There are certain myths/cultural saying you are going to come across after delivery, but you need to reject externally dictated standards and celebrate your body.

Ø “Get your body back”

Quickly after giving birth, people around you start bombarding with all types of fitness techniques and slimming diet and get to work on “getting your body back” from child birth. But you don’t need to stress yourself and accept the fact that your body has undergone certain changes and not that you lost your body which you need to get back. You have to focus on staying healthy, eating nutrition rich diet and after around 4-6 weeks of delivery you can start certain exercises too.

Ø "You should avoid certain foods after delivery"

Some people say to avoid milk after delivery as it can infect your stitch line (whether perineal stitches or cesarean stitch line) as well as you are suppose to have just semisolid food for 7-10 days after delivery. All such things are completely baseless, your body needs all the nutrients and can have the full diet with sabji, roti, dal , chawal after vaginal delivery and just semisolid diet after 24 hours of cesarean delivery and after next 12 hours one can have full diet. You should have a balanced diet and steer clear of unnecessary calories.

Ø “ Wait you cant feed the baby till the baby’s aunt (bua) writes OM with honey on baby’s tongue”

Its wrong, not about writing OM  but the honey as the baby is suppose to have only breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, moreover the timing , as baby needs to have its first feed within 1 hour of birth.

Ø “Sleep now because you won’t sleep after baby/ Sleep when your baby is sleeping”

Sleep is very much essential for your physical and mental health, but don’t put pressure on yourself to fall asleep. Instead focus on engaging in restful activities and ofcourse ask for help from other family members.

Ø “ Postpartum tummy binding help your stomach to get back in shape”

Its not like that, however using a tummy binder, corset or tying clothing around tummy support your back and abdominal muscles, improve your posture. Never bind it too tightly on abdomen as it would be very uncomfortable, itchy and rashes due to sweating as well as might create complications in wound healing post cesarean.

Ø “Wearing Brassiere post delivery hampers milk production”

It’s a complete myth, your breasts get heavy post delivery because of milk production and it needs support. If you stop wearing Brassiere, breasts would get engorged, resulting in pain and even fever due to mastitis and you might end up into operative procedures like Incision and Drainage.

Ø “You can’t and shouldn’t lift anything heavy for a lifetime after Cesarean section”

Its not at all true , you can gradually get your strength back and resume your activities after 4-6 weeks of cesarean delivery. You can do all your normal work and lift anything heavy same as before pregnancy after 6 weeks of cesarean section.

Ø “Eating Betel leaf, commonly known as PAAN is good for digestion and provides calcium for breastfeeding mother”

It can help in digestion to some extent but calcium…..never. Eating Paan would just give stain on your teeth. As well as you need to take calcium tablets upto 4-6 months post delivery.

Your body has done one of the most remarkable things it will ever do - grow another life.

You may have an uneventful or complicated childbirth, vaginal delivery or cesarean section, no matter what your body is going to need time for recovery.

                             

 

P.S : Next blog right path for healthy post partum recovery.