September - 11, 2024

Postpartum Aftercare

Giving birth takes a toll on the body and we need to make sure we are properly taking care of ourselves afterwards. Before giving birth, plan what you’ll need or want to help you heal well. This blog post will discuss what kind of aftercare you should follow after delivering your baby. 

Immediately After Birth

The midwives will assess and evaluate you and your baby post-delivery. During your check-up, you can do skin-to-skin contact with your newborn. Once they are sure everything is in order, you can get in the shower and wash up. After your shower, you can spend more time snuggling with your newborn and getting familiar with breastfeeding with the help of our midwives. 

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After you are cleared to go home, try to get some rest. This is easier said than done, of course. You may still be coming down from a birth high, with oxytocin flowing from the birth and breastfeeding. If sleep escapes you, at the very least you should lay in bed, get real comfy, and just be. Right now, your focus should be healing and bonding with your newborn. 

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Stay hydrated, eat nourishing food with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and get your body moving when you can. Even walking around your house for a few minutes at a time will suffice. Take a stool softener or drink some Miralax with your water to help keep things moving. The first bowel movement after giving birth can be scary but don’t try to hold it in or force it out. 

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When you feel the urge, sit on the toilet, and let the stool come out on its own, only doing small, gentle pushes if needed. You can rock back and forth on your toilet for further assistance. If nothing happens after five minutes, get off the toilet, and try again later. Sitting on the toilet longer than five minutes can lead to hemorrhoids, and that’s the last thing you need when your undercarriage is already sore. 

Helpful Supplies and Tips

To make your recovery easier, you can pick up a few supplies. Here’s a list of things that you may find to make your healing journey a little bit better. 

Peri Bottle

During birth, you may tear or get micro-tears that you may not notice until you urinate. It may feel uncomfortable or like a burning sensation. To help ease the discomfort, you can fill a peri bottle with clean water and gently spray your vulva as you pee. You can also use the peri bottle on your bottom after passing a stool. 

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If you don’t have a peri bottle, you can get in the shower immediately after urinating or while you urinate and rinse off. 

Witch Hazel

Witch hazel is an astringent that you can use on pads, women’s diapers, or cotton rounds to help heal hemorrhoids or tears from giving birth. It can soothe sensitive skin and can even help treat acne. Try soaking a pad in witch hazel and freezing it to use after birth (also known as padsicles). If the coldness of a padsicle is too much, you can just place a cotton round soaked in witch hazel and place it where needed for about 15 minutes to ease discomfort. 

Lanolin

If you are breastfeeding, the first few weeks can be rough while your nipples get accustomed to it. Lanolin can be used to help prevent the nipples from chapping and cracking. It is safe to use while breastfeeding, but you want to rub it on about 10 minutes or so before each nursing session to allow the lanolin to be absorbed into the skin. 

Pillows

One of the key components of healing is resting and allowing your body to heal. To get good rest, we must first get comfortable and pillows are great for helping us get maximum comfort. If you have a pregnancy or breastfeeding pillow, those can come in handy too! Just gather all the pillows you can gain access to and place them around and underneath you.

Hygiene

We all know that keeping good hygiene habits is important, but after giving birth you will want to pay special attention to certain areas. After birth, your perineum (the space between the vaginal canal and anus) will likely be swollen, sore, and there could be tears there. Make sure to keep this area clean and avoid wiping excessively as this could cause further irritation. 

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Use pads or women’s diapers for postpartum bleeding (called lochia) and change them after every use of the bathroom or at least four times a day. It is normal to experience some clotting in the lochia after giving birth, especially if you have been sitting or lying down for an extended amount of time, but if you pass a blood clot that is as big or bigger than the size of an egg, call the midwives immediately. If you notice a sour smell coming from your lochia, this could be a sign of infection and would also warrant a phone to the midwives. 

For more information on postpartum aftercare, call our midwives today!