Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of motherhood! Your baby has just been born, and you feel full, excited, exhausted, and distressed in equal measure. Surely among the many tips you receive after giving birth is that you enjoy this stage to the fullest, because before you want to know it, your baby will already be taking his first steps.
But let’s go little by little and focus on the first days after delivery : what will you feel? How will your body change? What surprising changes do you bring to your baby? We will tell you!
“Help, my life is in chaos!”
The first thing you will think when you get home with your baby is that your life has become a real mess . The tranquility that previously reigned in your home will be altered by the continuous demands of the newborn and your schedules will also undergo important changes.
It is advisable to take this initial mess calmly , accepting that your house will not be as clean and tidy as before, that you will eat and sleep late and that you will not have time for many things. Think that the important thing now is to enjoy your baby and make pineapple with your partner, so that together you can overcome the first challenges and doubts that will arise.
It is also essential that other family and friends understand the mother’s needs and wishes. In this sense, they must respect if the new parents do not want to receive visits the first days, provide the mother with rest and privacy and help in whatever way they can, especially if there are older siblings.
The main physical changes after childbirth
The first days after delivery it is normal that you feel sore and tired, especially in the case of new mothers and long and / or complicated deliveries, as in the case of having undergone a cesarean section or having suffered an episiotomy or tear.
For both episiotomy and cesarean section healing, a daily shower with soap and water is recommended and keeping the scar clean and dry, drying it with small touches of a towel or gauze. In addition, it is essential that you rest whenever you can and have help with the baby so that you can recover well.
After giving birth, the uterine involution process begins, that is, the uterus gradually shrinks again until it regains its pre-pregnancy state. Therefore, during the first days you will feel intense and frequent contractions called wrongs.
The wrongs will also cause the removal of remains of the uterine lining formed during pregnancy, placental remains, cervical mucus and secretions produced when the wound left by the placenta after its expulsion heals. This bleeding is known as lochia and lasts between six and eight weeks, although the intensity will gradually decrease.
Postpartum hemorrhoids are also very common, since the effort made during delivery, together with the increase in blood volume throughout pregnancy, causes inflammation of the veins of the rectum and anus. Take care of your diet to avoid constipation, drink plenty of water and walk to promote intestinal transit. If you have any questions with your doctor or midwife in case it is necessary to put a treatment.
If you have chosen to breastfeed your baby , it is important that you stimulate milk production by continuously putting your baby to the breast. In this sense, you should forget about the clock and practice skin-to-skin with your baby whenever you can. If you have any discomfort, doubt or difficulty with breastfeeding, be sure to consult your midwife or a consultant for help.
“Why do I still have this belly if I’m not pregnant anymore?”
One of the things that most often amazes new mothers is the postpartum belly. And it is that although the baby was born, the gut that remains is similar to the one we had in the first months of pregnancy. This is completely normal, and it may take time for us to regain our former appearance.
But even if we regain the weight we had before pregnancy, it is likely that our gut has become “flabby.” This is due to the weakening of the abdominal muscles and even their separation, causing a diastasis of the rectum that not only affects the silhouette, but can also lead to other complications.
Therefore, it is advisable to put yourself in the hands of a physiotherapist specialized in postpartum to help us with exercises and specific treatments.
When to start exercising
As soon as the gynecologist or midwife indicates it, it is important that you start doing sports, not only to recover your silhouette, but to feel better physically and emotionally and to have a little disconnection that will help you and “recharge your batteries”.
The doctor will tell you which sport is the most recommended in your case , as it will depend on factors such as the type of delivery you have had, how your recovery is going, your tastes, whether or not you practiced sport before … In any case, always You can start with simple exercise routines like walking, yoga, or postpartum gymnastics.
On the other hand, as soon as possible it is recommended that a physiotherapist specialized in pelvic floor do an evaluation, because after pregnancy this part of the anatomy is very relaxed and weakened, causing significant discomfort. Kegel exercises will help you recover. By contrast, high-impact sports could be detrimental.
The roller coaster of emotions in the postpartum
After the baby is born, a radical hormonal change occurs again that can affect the mother’s mood. Thus, it is common to feel during the first weeks a slight depression or sadness known as “baby blues”, which will disappear after a few days. As a consequence of this hormonal change, we can also speak of concomitant effects such as low blood pressure, loss of appetite, hair loss, irritability, confusion …
But in addition to the role that hormones play in our emotions, it is logical that the mother (especially if she is a newcomer) feels overwhelmed and anxious during the first weeks, and experiences a mixture of emotions ranging from the most absolute love crush for her baby, even the most irrational fears and doubts.
However, although all these emotional alterations are frequent and normal, there are also women who experience some type of psychological disorder after childbirth, such as depression, OCD or psychosis. In these cases it is important to know how to recognize the warning signs and seek professional help immediately.
Your baby during his first weeks of life
Surely after the birth of your baby you have studied every millimeter of his little body. His delicate skin, so wrinkled and smooth, his head, so fragile, his tiny facial features, his hands and long nails, his navel and the cord that attached him may have caught your attention … It is normal to have doubts at first about how to change his diaper and clean his genitals, dress him so that he does not get cold or hot, clean him, treat his navel … or even hold him in your arms.
Although in a few days you will have become an expert in their care, it is also important to emphasize that the first month of life is for many women the hardest, since mother and child must know each other and this can take time . However, once breastfeeding is established, let’s learn to identify our baby’s crying and understand their sleep patterns, everything will start to go smoothly.
And finally, we remember the most important thing and that is that the only thing the baby needs is to have his mother close. Therefore, it is essential that you always attend to their needs, know how to interpret their hunger signals before they cry and provide them with the warmth and shelter they need at all times to grow up safe, happy and confident. In this sense, skin-to-skin, carrying (also practiced indoors) and safe co-sleeping will be of great help to you.
Photos | iStock
In Babies and More | Cesarean Delivery: Seven Tips to Help You Heal More Easily, How to Fix Abdominal Diastasis After Delivery, Nine Uncomfortable Postpartum Truths: Wrong, Lochia, Constipation, and Other Common Discomforts
