kateandlisaChanges After Childbirth Don’t Just Reset in an Instant
After childbirth, the physical changes, feelings of discomfort, and emotions experienced during pregnancy and labor don’t just mysteriously reset in an instant. There are major shifts that occur as the body fights to heal and recover. At the same time, if you breastfeed, your body is also working hard to make and regulate the production of milk. These changes can occur in a few days, weeks, months, or even sometimes years. Yet, most healing does occur within what I call the ‘Fourth Trimester’ or three-ish months after labor. To heal that fast from producing a human being is remarkable to me.
I feel that knowing beforehand what your body may go through empowers you to be able to more easily handle what happens. I’ve also listed what I’ve found to best help/remedy these things below.
Here are things that my friends, myself, or other women have experienced after labor and many remedies for them:
Night sweats-You may not experience these, but many mothers do.
Swelling-This is very common—esp. if you have had an epidural. Sitting in a recliner with your feet up/elevated can help reduce the inflammation.
Emotions- You will be on an emotional roller coaster for awhile. So hang on. Do your best to go easy on yourself if one minute you are crying in joy over your beautiful baby and the next you are in tears. Let loved ones around you know that the next few months could bring out the best and worst in your moods, attitudes, and emotions. Your hormones are readjusting. It’s normal not to be emotional normal during the ‘fourth trimester. If you start to get really down, and it seems like there is little you are happy about, or if others mention they are truly worried about your moods, you may want to go to a professional. The typical ‘baby blues’ may have progressed into postpartum depression.
Back pain or misalignment- This is also very common esp. if you had a VBAC. Your pelvic bones did a lot of shifting and moving around. You may have had back labor. Perhaps the epidural left soreness. A trip or two to a very good chiropractor can help.
Headaches- Headaches can come from an epidural, hormone imbalances, lack of sleep, stress, etc. So don’t be too surprised if you experience them. Over-the-counter pain killers helped me.
Neck pain-This is also a result from the stress of labor, holding a new baby, and if you are nursing, you probably look down and lean forward more than you are used to. Icing the neck and/or taking over-the-counter pain killers helped me.
Dry skin, eczema, and/or PUPPS-PUPPS is a crazy-itchy rash. With treatment the postpartum PUPPS can go away in about 2 weeks. Later on, bad eczema can develop. A dermatologist can give creams that can help heal it.
New allergies-The body does interesting things. So just be aware that you can develop or lose allergies to certain things with each child.
Stress Urinary Incontinence-During pregnancy and labor our muscles that support and hold the bladder wall often get stretched, torn, and injured. The result can be that after having a child, or two, or four, etc. the ability to hold the bladder tight under stress (jumping, laughing, running, swimming, sneezing, coughing, etc.) is lost. The solution for thousands of other women is simply using Poise Impressa. Poise Impressa is a product that helps manage SUI by supporting the bladder wall from within. You’ll use a sizing kit to determine which size. Start with size 1 and insert similar to a tampon. If size 1 isn’t holding your bladder wall tight enough, size up until you find the right fit. Once you’ve found the size that holds your bladder wall tight (like your muscles used to), then continue wearing that size.
Gall bladder pains-A sharp pain in your mid back that comes after eating (especially anything high in fat), could mean that you have developed gall stones and are having a gall bladder attack. Gall bladder surgery postpartum is a fairly common procedure.
Hernia-Some women get hernias during pregnancy or labor which need to be repaired afterwards.
Hair loss-Hair has different growth stages. The hormones during pregnancy typically cause hair to become thicker and not fall out as much. After pregnancy and the drop of those hormones, typically hair falls out and can for some, become very thin. The hair loss stage could go on for more than 3 months but in my experience it does level off.
Change in libido-Of course wait the allotted time after delivery to have intercourse. Once cleared, some women reportedly have a stronger libido after child birth, others find their libido has returned to normal, and some experience a drop. I believe these changes are due to hormonal shifts. Be patient with yourself and be communicative about any changes with your husband so he understands as well.
Constipation-The pain medication from the epidural, or C section, hemorrhoids, and/or other factors can cause constipation. Try prune juice or dried prunes, suppositories, or medication prescribed by a doctor.
Hemorrhoids- With each child they can become worse. Luckily these painful embarrassing side effects many women get from pushing their baby out or while pregnant go away in a month or so. Witch hazel wipes help a lot.
Cramps/ Uterus contractions- After having a baby your uterus is trying to shrink back down to size. The staff will be making sure your uterus is getting back to it’s normal size.
Breast pain engorgement- Whether you breastfeed or not, engorgement is a painful thing that can occur as the milk comes in. Cold cabbage leaves can work wonders.
Sagging skin- Women’s skin can vary from very elastic skin to skin that doesn’t stretch well. Allow time for your skin to get back to a somewhat normal state.
Stretch marks-Although stretch marks will fade, they won’t disappear entirely. You gave a human life and your stretch marks are the scars to show that. There are creams that seem to help. Usually time and weight loss help the fading the most.
General Pain and looseness ‘downstairs’-If you had a VBAC the vaginal area will be quite sore (for at least a few weeks). Using cool ice packs to help numb the pain. Kegel exercises helped to strengthen and tighten the area up once you are healed.
Ovulation cramping and period cramps increase in intensity- Once your cycle begins again, you may notice that you can actually feel yourself ovulating, when before pregnancy you may not have been able to. Using Tylenol or Ibuprofen can help.
And last but certainly not least: Intense love, happiness, and joy-It is truly amazing how much love you will feel for your baby. It’s amazing how much joy children can bring. I’m often moved to tears. Children really are worth all of these things we go through as women to bear them. So please use this list to help you prepare for what may occur in the ‘fourth trimester’ and not let it scare you.
What did you experience during the “Fourth Trimester” recovering from labor? I’d like to hear about your experience. You can leave a comment below.
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