Postnatal Care ..

Welcome to this new journey of motherhood. By now, you must have heard your baby crying for the first time, have also made skin-to-skin contact with it and you will be feeling a lot of emotions inside you in the first hour of your baby’s birth. We know that now your full attention and focus will be on your newborn baby, but also remember that taking care of the new mother after delivery is as important as the baby.

What is Postnatal Care?

After delivery, it is as important to take care of the new mother as it is during pregnancy before delivery. After the birth of the baby, it becomes even more important to take care of the new mother because the step in the new journey of motherhood means that there are many changes in the body of the woman physically and emotionally which directly affect the woman. Falls on health The care of the new mother after delivery (postnatal care) should start from the hospital immediately after delivery and this process of care should continue for about 6 to 8 weeks.

Let’s know why postnatal care is important ..

As a new mother, during this time you will have to rebuild your strength and also take care of how your partner or spouse learn how to take care of the newborn baby. How you have given birth to your newborn baby – either by caesarean delivery or through normal vaginal delivery – does not matter. During this time of delivery you need to focus on 2 important areas:

New mother should rest after delivery:

Having a new parent means that you have to adjust yourself according to your baby’s physical clock. If the baby is crying, he has to be silenced, he has to be fed to feed his stomach, the baby’s diaper needs to be changed every 2 to 3 hours. Most infants usually sleep for 16 to 18 hours in the first month of birth, but during this period, infants also wake up to drink 8 to 10 times. In such a situation, the best way to complete your sleep during this period is that when your baby is sleeping, you should also complete your sleep by sleeping. However this will not be enough as adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily to function normally.

Along with this, you also have many additional tasks related to baby care – taking care of the baby, feeding him, belching, cleaning the baby, changing diapers etc. In such a situation it is also very common to feel tired after delivery. Remember that during this time your body has suffered a lot – you also have to overcome the pain of childbirth. Not only this, you can also have apathy and mood swings due to hormonal imbalance after delivery.

New mother needs nutrition after delivery:

You do not have to worry about your weight loss immediately after the birth of your baby because during this time your main goal should be how you will keep yourself healthy. It is usually the case that during the delivery process, the weight of a woman naturally decreases. But if this is not the case, then you can start a postpartum weight loss program in a healthy way after 8 weeks of delivery. During this time, you should focus your full attention on getting nutrition so that your body’s energy levels remain as you have to take care of your newborn baby.

Importance of resting after delivery –

It has been proved in research that sleep is very important for our body and brain to function properly. Complete sleep after delivery is also important for these 2 reasons.

First- your body has suffered a lot during childbirth. Periods after pregnancy, sutures, pain, and hormonal imbalances during childbirth – all of which make the new mother always feel tired and irritable. A few days after delivery your muscles may swell and feel weakness and it may take about 6 weeks for your uterus to go back in and return to normal.

Second- The new mother also has to take up new responsibilities such as getting the baby breastfeeding, taking care of the baby’s umbilical cord, cleaning the baby, making her sleep, crying, etc. And all these things make the new mother The person continues to feel excessively tired.

In such a situation, with the help of these tips, you can relax and recover during the postnatal care period:

• Apart from feeding and caring for your newborn baby, you should also do some other work for your spouse, trusted nurse, relatives or friends. Remember that if you do not take care of your health, it will directly affect your child.
• When the baby sleeps, you too should sleep, even if it sleeps for a while. These times and hours will add up and your sleep will be complete.
• Keep your baby close to you but do not share your bed with him. Keep your baby’s cradle with you so that you do not have to wake up again and go to the baby and the fatigue is reduced, whether it is daytime or night.
• Your friends and family members may come to meet you and newborn baby, but do not change your routine due to their arrival. If it is time for the baby to sleep or drink milk, do the same according to the routine.
• Get out of the house at least once daily so that you can get fresh air and sunlight. If your doctor advises you, then you can also do postpartum exercise.

Nutrition and postpartum diet for new mothers

We hope that you have taken full care of what to eat and what not to eat during pregnancy. The weight that you have gained during the 9 months of pregnancy will work for you after delivery. But during this time you need to have a balanced diet which includes grains, carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and protein. Include fiber-rich things in your diet so that you don’t have problems like constipation after delivery.

Apart from this, you can also get healthy fat through nuts and seeds and drink water and milk for lack of water in the body. Since you get your baby breastfed, it is very important that you do not have any problem of dehydration during the postpartum period. If your body is deficient in vitamins and minerals, the doctor may also advise you to take supplements.

New mother care after normal vaginal delivery

If you have a normal vaginal delivery then it will be easy for you to take care of yourself after delivery. During this time it is very important that you take as much rest as possible, eat a nutritious diet, in addition to that there are some important symptoms which need to be taken care of. Learn about these symptoms and also how to get relief in such problems:

Vaginal pain after normal delivery

An episiotomy (vaginal tear) often involves stitches in the vagina during normal delivery. In this case, if this happened to you too, then you will continue to have pain for the next few weeks. If the stitch is too long, it may take longer to fill. In such a situation, you can try these remedies to reduce pain and discomfort-

• Ask your doctor about any pain relieving cream or spray that is completely safe.
• You may also need laxatives to avoid constipation.
• You can foment the wound with ice or you can sit in a tub of cold or hot water as per your convenience.
• Sit on a soft pillow or padded ring until the wound heals so that there is no pressure on the wound.
• If you are experiencing unbearable pain, talk to a doctor immediately as this may be a sign of infection.

Vaginal discharge after normal delivery

During pregnancy, an uterine membrane is formed on the surface of your uterus which starts to shrink soon after delivery. This is the reason that after delivery, vaginal discharge starts in which blood is present along with the membrane and it continues for a few days or weeks. In the beginning, this secretion is red and very much, but gradually it becomes like water and its color also becomes pink or yellow. This is normal and heavy-duty postnatal care sanitary pads are easily available in the market to deal with this flow. But if you are suffering from excessive bleeding and also have pain and fever in the tree, contact the doctor immediately.

Pain and contraction after normal delivery

It is very common to feel contractions and cramps after delivery. It is also known as aftereffect. Through these contractions the body tries to constrict the blood vessels so as to reduce bleeding. Especially during breastfeeding, it is common to feel such contractions or afterpain because oxytocin is released from the body during breastfeeding and is a natural process. But if the pain is getting too much and you are unable to tolerate it, then you can ask your doctor about any pain relief pill.

Urin not in control after normal delivery

Often, after normal vaginal delivery, it happens that you do not have control over the urine or the bladder and the urine comes out. This is because there is a higher risk of stretching or injury to the pelvic floor during normal delivery. This pelvic floor supports organs like uterus, bladder, rectum and intestine. Within a few weeks this problem also gets resolved automatically. If you wish, you can make your pelvic floor muscles as strong again as possible through kegel exercise.

Piles after normal delivery

If you are feeling pain during the bowel movement and have swelling in the rectum, then you may have hemorrhoids. In order to avoid pain, instead of not having bowel movements, follow these tips:

• Eat foods rich in fiber and drink plenty of water. This will make the stool soft and come out easily. For this, you can add 1 teaspoon of flaxseed seeds to your daily diet.
• Ask your doctor about the treatment of hemorrhoids which includes stool softener and OTC cream.
• If you want to deal with swelling and pain in the rectum, you can sit for 10 to 15 minutes in warm water 2 to 3 times daily.

Breast pain and swelling after delivery

If you do not breastfeed your newborn completely, your breast may get swollen, the breasts may feel stiff or there may be difficulty in breast pain or tenderness of the breast. Because of all this, your baby may have difficulty in taking the breast in the mouth during breast feeding. To avoid these symptoms try these remedies:

• Before feeding your baby, with the help of breast pump, or with your hands, remove some milk from the breast.
• To make it easier to breastfeed, you can take a bath with warm water before breast feeding or by soaking a cloth in warm water to clean the breast.
• While getting your baby breastfeeding keep a cool wet cloth over the breast.
• If you are not getting your baby breastfed then wear the right bra so that the breast will get support.

Skin and hair changes after delivery

Even though you may see pregnancy glow and better hair on your face due to increasing hormone levels during pregnancy, all these changes start happening after delivery. After delivery, it takes about 5 months for the hormones to return to normal and during this time your hair starts falling fast and the skin glow also ends. On the other hand, if there was a dark patches, melasma on your face during pregnancy, then now it will slowly start removing. For the first few weeks after delivery, your stretch marks also look very bad, but if you take full care of them, then gradually they will disappear.

Depression and mood changes after delivery

Mood swings during pregnancy are normal because of increased hormone levels and mood swings continue until after the hormone levels have decreased after delivery. During this time, the new mother may have difficulty falling asleep, feels like crying again and again, feels restless and is not interested in any work. This phase is also called baby blues. Baby blues usually end 2-3 weeks after delivery but during this time you should take full care of yourself. Talk to your spouse, share your feelings with your family, relatives and friends and seek the help of a doctor if you feel the need.

In many cases, baby blues become a serious problem and due to this the woman becomes a victim of postpartum depression. If you are feeling excessively tired, depression is feeling, mood swings are happening too much till 2 weeks after the birth of your baby, you are not feeling hungry and you are not feeling happy in anything, then this May be a sign of postpartum depression. It is very important to seek medical help to deal with this condition as many women continue to suffer it for years without knowing what has happened to them.

Lose weight after delivery

Weight gain during pregnancy is normal. During delivery, the placenta and amniotic fluid along with the baby also get out of the body, so you lose a lot of weight immediately after delivery. However, the baby bump is seen due to the uterus still not going inside. It takes a few days for the uterus to return to normal, so be patient. Do not put unnecessary pressure on your body in the process of weight loss and do not adopt methods like dieting or eating carbs for weight loss. In the postpartum period you need a lot of nutritious diet. If weight loss is very important for you, then you can start it after 8 weeks of delivery, not before that.

After cesarean delivery keep this in mind

If your doctor decides that your and your baby’s health is at risk and you need to have a Caesarean or C section delivery, then you need to remember that it will take longer than normal delivery ones to recover. It takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour during the C section and the baby is taken out through surgery. During this time the mother is given general anesthesia and an incision is made 2 places in the abdomen – one near the uterus and the other in the lower abdomen.

Since this is a surgery, the new mother who has given birth to a baby through a C-section has to take care of her wounds and stitches as well as her baby’s. In this case, more help is needed from spouse, family members, relatives or nurses. In this case, if you have C-section delivery, then keep these things in mind:

How to take care of incision during C-section?

During the C-section, there is a need to take care of the incisions in the stomach because if you do not do this, then there will be a risk of infection in it. Feeling uncomfortable, tired, aching during recovery from a C-section is all normal. Apart from this, keep in mind these things-

• The doctor will give you some essential pain relievers and some other safe medicines so that your wound heals quickly. But keep in mind that you do not take more medicines than the prescribed dose as prescribed by the doctor. If the pain is more painful, you can also foment with heat-pad.
• Get plenty of rest and don’t lift any weight except lifting your baby. Keep in mind that all the things that you and your baby need are present around you so that you do not have to get up and move around.

How to get breastfeed after c-section?

Since you have surgery-related wounds in your stomach, it can be extremely difficult or impossible for you to sit and breastfeed your baby. During this time you have to take care that there is no pressure on your stitches. In such a situation, while getting your baby breastfeed, you can try these poses keeping in mind your wound:

• Side-lying hold: Lie on your right or left side and lie on your baby so that her face is towards your breast. Support your baby with one hand and with the other hand, help your baby take your breast in the mouth. When the baby starts drinking milk from the breast comfortably, continue to support the baby simultaneously and support your head with the other hand.

• Football Hold: Place your baby on the side and support your baby with the help of your hands and elbows. With the other hand, help the baby hold the breast in the mouth. When the baby starts drinking milk, support the baby with one hand and your head with the other hand.

Symptoms appearing after C section delivery

Like normal vaginal delivery, post-natal symptoms are seen after C-section delivery. This is because in addition to recovering from the procedure of surgery, you also have to recover from pregnancy. During this time you may not have vaginal pain but feel vaginal discharge, afterpain, contraction, contraction, pain in breasts or softness because you are having breastfeeding, hair fall, mood changes etc. How to deal with these symptoms after delivery has already been mentioned above in the article.

Even after c-section or cesarean delivery there is a risk of postpartum depression, so be cautious about it. Tell your partner all your feelings, mood swings, thoughts of depression, or if you are not feeling happy after the birth of your baby, talk to your doctor, spouse or friends. So that you feel better.

Why is checkup required after delivery?

Whether you have normal normal delivery or C-section or Caesarean delivery, it is very important for you to have a checkup after delivery. According to the American College of Observations and other gynecologists, postnatal health checkup should not be done just once. It is a continuous process that keeps an eye on whether your baby’s health and development is going well according to his age. It is also known that the new mother is recovering after pregnancy.

You may have to go for a checkup with your baby in the third week, sixth week, and 12th week after delivery. If you have undergone a C-section delivery, you may have to go for a checkup more often to find out if the incision and sutures in your abdomen are filling correctly. Postnatal checkup is a good opportunity when you can ask many questions related to your recovery and how to take care of your baby. Remember that no question is wrong because it is related to your baby’s safety. In this case, pay full attention to the doctor’s suggestions.

Finally keep these things in mind

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, many mothers and newborns die in the first one month after delivery, of which about 50 percent of cases occur within 24 hours of delivery. So the first 24 hours after delivery are considered very important. During this time most care and attention is needed so that the health of both the new mother and the baby remains good.

Postpartum period after delivery is divided into 3 phases – the initial 6 to 12 hours after delivery is called acute phase. The second phase of 2 to 6 weeks is the last phase and the last phase can be up to 6 months and during this time the new mother’s body starts returning to normal again. During this time, keep in mind that you are not having any complications after delivery such as uterine prolapse or amniotic fluid embolism.

You are a new mother, so take care to drink your food. Eat healthy and balanced food and talk to your partner as well as your doctor about how you feel. About 80 percent of new mothers are affected by baby blues and there is no need to feel embarrassed. The problem of baby blues resolves on its own but attention needs to be paid to postpartum depression as it is a serious problem. Remember that both of these are caused by chronic hormonal imbalances and you can come out of this quickly with the help of your doctor, spouse, friends and family members.

Getting a child breastfed is not easy. If you want, you can take help of an elderly relative in this. If you do not succeed immediately, do not worry. Some postpartum symptoms are temporary, such as skin and hair changes. If you want, you can adopt some home remedies for this. Do not stress about reducing the weight of pregnancy. How much to do with the baby. Focus on it and always be happy and healthy.