A woman’s body undergoes a whole lot of changes after being pregnant and giving birth, whether vaginally or by caesarean section. There’s much to care for a woman as she recovers from the whole birthing process. Here are some aspects of postpartum recovery that you can learn about in order to support their needs better:
1. Postpartum bleeding
In both vaginal and c-section births, women would experience postpartum bleeding – lochia – a vaginal discharge composed of a mix of blood, mucus and uterine discharge. This can last several weeks, some as long as the full 6 weeks postpartum. During this time, having good absorbant pads that not only functions to absorb the discharge, but reduce infection and bring healing to the perineal area is very important. Using peri-bottles can be very helpful to cleanse the area well too, whether one has delivered vaginally or via c-section.
2. Soreness in Perineal Area
If the mother has undergone labour and pushing, the perineal area would have been greatly impacted in the process, whether due to tearing or procedures such as episiotomy. To help restore the perineal area, using witch hazel sprays, perineal sprays and sitz baths can help soothe the soreness and help it heal. Some would create DIY “padsicles” where they spray the herbal fluids on the pads directly and freeze the pads before use so as to provide some numbing and restorative form of relief for the area.
3. C-Section Wounds
For a mother who has undergone a caesarean section, whether elective or emergency, she would have an incision wound in her abdominal area which would greatly affect her mobility in the early days postpartum. Such a deep wound would require proper care and cleansing to prevent any form of infection or scarring. There would be pain but the use of heating pads can be very helpful. There are both electrical pads and homemade ones that can simply be heated up in the microwave and remain heated for a good amount of time and placed near the wound to provide comfort in the region.
4. Internal Organ Movements
After giving birth, a lot is going on internally in the mother’s body as her organs start to shift back after the uterus gradually shrinks back to its original size. The core can be weakened in the whole process of birth and during this process too. Wearing a belly binder can be helpful for creating better support as the organs move within the body. The applied pressure of a belly binder can also help ease the pain for a c-sect mama.
5. Mental Health Struggles
On top of physical struggles that a mama will experience postpartum (there’s even more to the list than what’s mentioned above!), Mamas also may experience a spectrum of emotions that range from the very common “baby blues” to the more serious clinical diagnosis of postpartum depression. Having a close network of support surrounding them can help them cope through this season better. A gift like our RELAX Kit can be very helpful to let them know they have the right to self-care and me-time even in their new roles as a mother.
Perhaps with a better understanding, as friends and family members who do not have children yet or are physiologically unable to go through this process of giving birth, we can do better in serving the needs of the Mama who is in this healing process post-birth.
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