Introduction
This sheet gives you information about how to care for yourself during the period of time right after you deliver your baby up to 6 weeks after delivery (postpartum period). Your health care provider may also give you more specific instructions. If you have problems or questions, contact your health care provider.
Follow these instructions at home:
Medicines
Take over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your health care provider.
If you were prescribed an antibiotic medicine, take it as told by your health care provider. Do not stop taking the antibiotic even if you start to feel better.
Activity
Gradually return to your normal activities as told by your health care provider.
Avoid activities that take a lot
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of effort and energy (are strenuous) until approved by your health care provider. Walking at a slow to moderate pace is usually safe. Ask your healthcare provider what activities are safe for you. Do not: Lift anything that is heavier than your baby, or 10 lb (4.5 kg), as told by your health care provider. Vacuum, climb stairs, or drive a car for 4–6 weeks, or as long as told by your health care provider. Have someone help you at home until you are able to do your usual activities yourself. Rest as much as possible. Try to rest or take naps while your baby is sleeping. Vaginal bleeding It is normal to have vaginal bleeding (lochia) after delivery. Wear a sanitary pad for vaginal bleeding and discharge. During the first week after delivery, the amount and appearance of lochia is often similar to a menstrual period. Over the next few weeks, it will gradually decrease to a dry, yellow-brown discharge. For most women, lochia stops completely by 6–8 weeks after delivery. Vaginal bleeding can vary from woman to woman. Change your sanitary pads frequently. Watch for any changes in your flow, such as: A sudden increase in volume. A change in color. Large blood clots. If you pass a blood clot from your vagina, save it and call your health care provider to discuss. Do not flush blood clots down the toilet before talking with your health care provider. Do not use tampons or douches until your health care provider says this is safe. If you are not breastfeeding, your period should return 6–8 weeks after delivery. If you are breastfeeding, your period may return anytime between 8 weeks after delivery and the the time that you stop breastfeeding. Perineal care If your C-section (Cesarean section) was unplanned, and you were allowed to labor and push before delivery, you may have pain, swelling, and discomfort of the tissue between your vaginal opening and your anus (perineum). You may also have an incision in the tissue (episiotomy) or the tissue may have torn during delivery. Follow these instructions as told by your health care provider: Keep your perineum clean and dry as told by your health care provider. Use medicated pads and pain-relieving sprays and creams as directed. If you have an episiotomy or vaginal tear, check the area every day for signs of infection. Check for: More redness, swelling, or pain. More fluid or blood. Warmth. Pus or a bad smell. You may be given a squirt bottle to use to clean the perineum area after you go to the bathroom instead of wiping. As you start healing, you may use the squirt bottle before wiping yourself. Make sure to wipe gently. To relieve pain caused by an episiotomy, vaginal tear, or hemorrhoids, try taking a warm sitz bath 2–3 times a day. A sitz bath is a warm water bath that is taken while you are sitting down. The water should only come up to your hips and should cover your buttocks. Breast care Within the first few days after delivery, your breasts may feel heavy, full, and uncomfortable (breast engorgement).
You may also have milk leaking from your breasts. Your health care provider can suggest ways to help relieve breast discomfort. Breast engorgement should go away within a few days.
If you are breastfeeding:
Wear a bra that supports your breasts and fits you well.
Keep your nipples clean and dry. Apply creams and ointments as told by your health care provider.
You may need to use breast pads to absorb milk leakage.
You may have uterine contractions every time you breastfeed for up to several weeks after delivery. Uterine contractions help your uterus return to its normal size.
If you have any problems with breastfeeding work with your health care provider or lactation consultant.
If you are not breastfeeding:
Avoid touching your breasts a lot. Doing this can make your breasts produce more milk.
Wear a good-fitting bra and use cold packs to help with swelling.
Do not squeeze out (express) milk. This causes you to make more milk.
Intimacy and sexuality
Ask your health care provider when you can engage in sexual activity. This may depend on your:
Risk of
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infection. Healing rate. Comfort and desire to engage in sexual activity. You are able to get pregnant after delivery, even if you have not had your period. If desired, talk with your health care provider about methods of family planning or birth control (contraception). Eating and drinking Drink enough fluid to keep your urine clear or pale yellow. Eat high-fiber foods every day. These may help prevent or relieve constipation. High-fiber foods include: Whole grain cereals and breads. Brown rice. Beans.
Fresh fruits and vegetables.
Take your prenatal vitamins until your postpartum checkup or until your health care provider tells you it is okay to stop.
Lifestyle
Do not use tobacco products, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, or e-cigarettes. If you need help quitting, ask your health care provider.
Do not drink alcohol, especially if you are breastfeeding.
General instructions
Keep all follow-up visits for you and your baby as told by your health care provider. Most women will visit their health care provider for a postpartum checkup within the first 3–6 weeks after delivery.
Contact a health care provider if:
You feel unable to cope with the changes that your child brings to your life, and these feelings do not go away.
You feel unusually sad or worried.
Your breasts are painful, hard, or turn red.
You have a fever.
You have trouble holding urine or keeping urine from leaking.
You have little or no interest in activities you used to enjoy.
You have not breastfed at all and you have not had a menstrual period for 12 weeks after delivery.
You have stopped breastfeeding and you have not had a menstrual period for 12 weeks after you stopped breastfeeding.
You have questions about caring for yourself or your
baby. Get help right away if: You have chest pain. You have difficulty breathing. You have sudden, severe leg pain. You have severe pain or cramping in your abdomen. You bleed from your vagina so much that you fill more than one sanitary pad in one hour. Bleeding should not be heavier than your heaviest period. You develop a severe headache. You faint. You have blurred vision or spots in your vision. You have a bad-smelling vaginal discharge. You have thoughts about hurting yourself or your baby. If you ever feel like you may hurt yourself or others, or have thoughts about taking your own life, get help right away. You can go to your nearest emergency department or call: Your local emergency services (911 in the U.S.). A suicide crisis helpline, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. This is open 24 hours a day. Summary The period of time right after you deliver your newborn up to 6 weeks after delivery is called the postpartum period. Gradually return to your normal activities as told by your health care provider. Keep all follow-up visits for you and your baby as told by your health care provider.
The baby blues are common to new mothers due to the lack of sleep, the babys crying and the shock of motherhood. It's not awful for a mother to feel irritable, overwhelmed and a lot of the time tearful. These feeling begin to show three or four days after birth, but should only last a few weeks. If the blues last for more the two weeks, then she may be experiencing (PPD) which is postpartum depression. The symptoms of PPD are feelings of despondency, inadequacy as a mother, impaired concentration, or memory loss.
In conclusion, postpartum depression is now widely recognized as distinct from short-term “baby blues” anxiety. Rather than hiding their symptoms from embarrassment and shame, women can now confidently seek treatment, especially important since postpartum depression have a negative effect on both mother and infant. For this reason, it is so important to identify risk factors, and provide prompt treatment to mothers suffering from postpartum depression. Treatment options that include therapy, and occasionally antidepressants or herbal supplements, are successful in treating this disorder. For mothers who want to approach treatment in a more natural way, breastfeeding combined with exercise has been proven to reduce the effects of postpartum depression.
Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a period of depression that follows childbirth and lasts more than two weeks. It is experienced by up to 15% of women in the first three postpartum months (Camp, 2013). PPD is well represented in all ages, races, and cultures. The causes of PPD are currently unknown. There are many factors that place patients at a higher risk of developing PPD. These factors include history of PPD, depression during pregnancy, family strains, anxiety, and lack of support.
Breastfeeding is best for mom too. Increased levels of oxytocin stimulate postpartum uterine contractions, reducing blood loss and encouraging uterine contractions. From 3 months to 12 months postpartum, breastfeeding increases the rate of weight loss in most nursing mothers. Breastfeeding has even been found to lessen the severity of postpartum depression by keeping the hormonal levels more balanced. Breastfeeding also reduces the mother’s risk for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and osteoporosis, (Shinskie and Lauwers, 2002). It is important that the lactation consultant collaborate with the mother shortly after delivery to eliminate frustration and prevent the abandonment of br...
Many mothers believe that they will not get pregnant while exclusively breastfeeding their babies. This practice is called the Lactational Amerrorhea Method (LAM) of birth control because women who breastfeed exclusively usually do not menstruate after childbirth. This results in natural infertility. However, many mothers are confused about fertility and breastfeeding because of conflicting information they receive. These include myths like breastfeeding is an unreliable method of preventing pregnancy and breastfeeding will prevent pregnancies no matter how frequently they breastfeed or even if their period has resumed.
There are two ways you can manage this problem: (1) help your baby deal with the fast flow of breast milk and (2) adjust your supply of milk to your baby's needs. Most moms do a combination of these and it may take a few weeks to see the results.
Zanardo, V., Svegliado, G., Cavallin, F., Giustardi, A., Cosmi, E., Litta, P., & Trevisanuto, D. (2010). Elective cesarean delivery: Does it have a negative effect on breastfeeding? Birth, 37(4), 275-279. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.summit.csuci.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f4eb05fd-f93d-45bf-aa4d-ef5c14821ea7%40sessionmgr4004&vid=4&hid=4207
The infant and mother create a bond between the two of them and the mother usually feels more confident about raising her infant. “By holding your infant safe in your arms and providing them with nourishment from your body, you as a mother are offering your infant a sense of continuity from pre- to post-birth life. Allowing your infant to have this time, you are promoting their understanding of a sense of love and protection and security that they need to adjust comfortably into this new world.” (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2015). When breastfeeding, the mother is able to lose more weight and may return to her pre-pregnancy weight with ease. Due to hormones released when breastfeeding, the mother’s menstrual cycle will come to a stop making it harder for her to conceive again before her body is ready. There are many risks that are lowered when breastfeeding, such as; lower risk of postpartum diabetes, postpartum ovarian and breast cancer, and rheumatoid
Women do not breastfeed long enough. Although healthcare workers try to promote the breast method, many women do not continue with it. Breastfeeding does come with challenges; however, the phrase “breast is best” is the role of the nurse in conjunction with education. A mother a...
Be relaxed and breastfeed in a calm environment. Recline on some pillows or another comfortable area before you start.
• You may have tests of your blood pressure and kidney function after giving birth.
• Do not use any tobacco products, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and electronic cigarettes. If you need help quitting, ask your health care provider.
After seeing this mother, doing the research and seeing how valuable breastfeeding teaching really is, I realized that my preconception related to breastfeeding was way off and my respect for mothers who try to breastfeed and continue to try throughout difficulties without giving up has increased substantially. It is so important to encourage a mother and help her out through the difficulties and challenges she faces through breastfeeding. It may help the mother to know that she is not alone and breastfeeding difficulties are quite common in the beginning but it gets easier with time. I feel that I have learned a lot about breastfeeding difficulties and techniques after being able to go in with a lactation consultant and doing this reflection. I have found that there are many valuable resources for the breastfeeding mother. At the time of this situation, I did not know there was a breastfeeding clinic and a number that you could call if you had any questions, which would really benefit my patient or any patient with breastfeeding questions. It is quite unfortunate that a lactation consultant was not working on Saturday because this mom could have really benefit from one. However, there is healthy and home, a community health division, with workers who are able to help with breastfeeding, including lactation consultants and are able to
Breast feeding has always been a natural event since the beginning of time. The recent events of women being harassed and humiliated has prevented a lot of women from breast feeding (Myers 1). What happened? Culture change and the breast became looked at as a sexual object, this made women and men uncomfortable.
All mothers, especially first time mothers need help moral support and advice during the first few days after their delivery to ensure proper care of their newborn. The care and help given to first time mothers is of utmost important during this period as to maintain the normality in their babies as well as to prevent any further complications. Typically all pregnant women are counseled during their antenatal period on how to prepare themselves mentally on the care of their babies after birth. Upon delivery, majority of the mothers would stay for a short period in the hospital. During this short stay, they would need time to recuperate, need to know what care to give their baby and how to carry out the care and also learn what to do if their baby is feeling unwell. Thus it is important for health care providers to assist first time mothers be it at the hospital or at home since it is a crucial period for them and they often requires more help and moral support especially when it comes to the proper care of their newborn. ("Routine care of a newborn baby")