Pregnancy is a rollercoaster of feelings, traumas and emotions. Yet, it is crucial to have a healthy recovery after the delivery. Postpartum care can be a tad bit difficult but this guide lets your motherhood flow easily and beautifully.
What is postpartum care?
Postpartum is referred to six weeks after the baby is born. This is a healing period for the mother as well as a very jubilant time. A baby is nearest to her mother during postpartum. Mother has regular check-ups and visits with the doctor during this time.
Adapting to Motherhood Life
Adapting to the new changes is tough as life after the birth of a baby brings new challenges. As important as it is to take off the baby, it is significant to look after you. A baby requires her mother constantly, it needs to be fed continuously and the whole process can be tedious.
Mothers are unable to return get to work after six weeks of pregnancy. They heal and adopt the new normal during this period. After a baby, these are the steps for the easy transition:
Get Maximum Rest
Delivery is tiresome. After the delivery, looking after the baby is harder than delivering a baby. To keep up with constant fatigue and tiredness. Get as much sleep as possible. Babies require feeding after every two hours and might wake you up from time to time. The best to get maximum sleep is to get rest when the baby is sleeping.
Ask for Help
During the postpartum period, seek out help from friends and family. Your body needs healing and maximum rest. Ask friends and family to be in charge of the house or ask your partner to look after the other children or run an errand for you. Hire someone or ask your parents to prepare meals for you.
Exercise Regularly
Exercises should be light. They should not be tough and tiring. Your doctor will recommend when to exercise and what exercises are best for you. Try walking down the block or take your dog for a small run. The scenery will bring a change for you and be refreshing enough to go home and take care of the baby.
Less Stress About Baby Fat
A mother develops baby fat just below the lower abdominal. For reducing baby fat, you must stick to a balanced diet and regular exercise. Do not stress over it.
Contact a Physician
After a baby’s birth, a new mother’s baby is delicate. If you develop a wound or sutures, don’t be afraid to visit a physician.
Consult a doctor in case of disorientation, pain, fever or discomfort.
Skincare:
Some mothers develop skin issues. Their skin colour changes and develops acne as a result of hormonal imbalance. This is not something to be worried about. Drink plenty of water and apply moisturiser twice a day.
Bleeding After the Birth
You might bleed continuously after the baby’s birth or maybe ended up not having your periods for months or until the baby is breastfeeding. The way to maintain your genitals clean is by washing them with lukewarm water. After the baby’s birth, you’ll have a normal menstruation cycle within 6 months.
Baby Blues or Postpartum Depression
It’s normal to have baby blues after the child’s birth. A mother suffers from mood swings like unexpected crying, irritability, insomnia, sadness, restlessness, mood changes etc which last for typically two weeks.
About 70-80% of women suffer from negative feelings. Now, baby blue is way different from postpartum depression.
Here’s when you should be visiting a doctor. You must check up with your doctor when baby blues turn into postpartum depression. Postpartum depression occurs when the bad feelings stay even after two weeks. Some additional symptoms are feeling of guilt and worthlessness, and boredom in daily activities. Some women withdraw their interest in their family, do not have any interest in their baby and severe cases, they want to kill their baby.
When you’re noticing the such difference, discuss this with your partner or family. Postpartum depression requires medical treatment. postpartum depression can even occur even after a year of giving birth to your child.
Nutrition
After pregnancy due to extreme blood loss, your tissues require vitamins, minerals and all kinds of nutrients. Schedule a diet and religiously follow it to recover better and faster. The intake of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and proteins should be more than junk food. The most significant thing is, that your fluids should increase due to your breastfeeding. Use effective breast pumps to increase your milk by 11.8%.
Grains
Foods that are made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or any other grain are grain products. Like oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat.
Vegetables
Choose different vegetables on different which include dark green, red, and orange vegetables. Legumes and sober vegetables.
Fruits
Any fruit is counted as part of the fruit group. Be it fresh, canned, frozen, fruit juice, dried or as a whole.
Dairy
Milk products and many foods made from milk are considered part of this food group.
Proteins
Go all protein at once. Choose low-fat and lean meats and poultry. make Changes in your protein routine. Choose more fish, nuts, seeds, peas and beans.
Keeping Up with Body Changes
Along with all the emotional changes, the mother experience change in the body. Often they gain weight after delivering the baby. So all the mothers, do not stress over losing weight. Weight loss is not a one-day process. It is heavy and tough at times. It is very innate to gain a few pounds after a baby’s birth. Make sure you start working on your body only after your doctor has recommended doing so. Walking, running, aerobics and swimming are some light cardio you can opt for.
Losing weight also involves a balanced diet and regular intake of prescribed nutrients. It includes vegetables, fruits, protein, and whole grains. Every mother out there loses weight at a different pace so let’s not compare you with a different mother. Other Body changes are:
Breast Engorgement
After birth, your breasts will start filling milk inside of them. This is a pretty normal process but the swelling can make you uncomfortable. Engorgement improves with time. For gentle breastfeeding, use a medela breast pump in style max flow to smooth the suckling moment. Otherwise, apply a warm compress to your breasts to ease the discomfort. Sore nipples from breastfeeding usually disappear with time and adjusting times. To soothe cracking and pain, use nipple cream.
Vaginal Discharge
Vaginal Discharge stays for four-two weeks after the birth. Our body eliminates the tissues and blood from the uterus. Use sanitary napkins until the discharge stops. When doctors approve until then avoid using tampons or douches. Using these sanitary products in the immediate postpartum period may double the risk of uterine infection. You may continue to have bloody spotting for your first week postpartum.
Heavy bleeding is not expected. Saturating one sanitary pad within two hours then contact your doctor
Constipation
Eat high-fibre foods to stimulate bowel activity, and drink plenty of water. Ask your doctor about safe medications. Fibre can also relieve haemorrhoids, as well as over-the-counter creams or sitting in a sit bath.
Drinking water helps ease problems with urinating after birth. If you experience incontinence, Kegel exercises can strengthen your pelvic muscles.