Postpartum Period Symptoms and Recovery

The postpartum period is 6 to 8 weeks after you deliver your baby. Before this, your body went through some remarkable changes to grow another human being inside you. Becoming a mother is always special, and now you have to take care of your newborn baby as well as your body as it's recovering. Postpartum recovery is crucial as you have to get into the same shape before your pregnancy. It can be a tiring and frustrating process. Take a break, rest well, and feed yourself good food during this period.

Postpartum Period Symptoms:

You should expect the following during the recovery process:

• Hormonal Shifts: New mothers can experience “baby blues” due to drastic changes to their hormones. You might be happy to welcome your baby, but the next moment can be sad. Try consulting a doctor at a best maternity hospital in Hyderabad or talking to family and friends during this period. Hormonal imbalance can also lead to loss of sleep and sweating. It can also lead to hair loss in a few women.
• Abdominal Pain: As your uterus is getting back to normalcy, you might experience pain in your abdomen. It can be a sudden burst of sharp pains or dull ones. Apply heat to the area with a warm cloth or a heating pad. Consult your doctor if the pain persists for long.
• Vaginal Bleeding and Discharge: Vaginal bleeding is common during the postpartum period. Your body discharges extra blood and tissue that were used to grow the baby inside you. It’s usually heavy for the first 10 days, but then it slows down. Use sanitary pads during this time. Also, you will notice blood clots during this time but if the size of the clots gets bigger, then you should consult your doctor.
• Weight Loss: Weight loss will be fast in the first few weeks, and the lost weight will be equal to that of the baby. After this period, the rate of weight loss will slow down though it can continue with breastfeeding. However, that's not the case with all women.
• Sore Perineum: The area between the anus and vagina is called the perineum. Usually, a tear can occur in that area during delivery or sometimes doctors have to widen that area with a cut to make space for the baby. In both cases, the perineum becomes sore, and you should rinse the area with warm water regularly to ease the pain during the first week. After the first week, you should sit on an ice pack for 10 minutes every day to ward off the pain and irritation. Consult a doctor from the maternity hospital in Hyderabad if the soreness persists for long.
• Healing the Stitches: Perineum cut stitches usually take 7 to 10 days to heal. On the other hand, it takes around 5 to 10 days to recover from a C-section cut, but the underlying layer will take a minimum of 12 weeks to heal. Don’t let the stitches get infected, and clean them with warm water or apply an ice pack if they get sore. Make sure not to wipe the area with a cloth as that might cause rashes. Always consult your doctor if the stitches start to hurt or become weepy. In addition to healing yourself from some of the major symptoms during the postpartum period, you should have a good amount of food and drink sufficient water to keep yourself healthy. Following are some of the items which you can include in your diet:
  • Fruits & Vegetables
  • Cereals
  • Whole-grain and Whole-wheat Products
  • Leafy Greens
  • Low-fat Dairy Products
  • Low-fat Soy Products
  • Eggs Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, oily & greasy food, and certain kinds of seafood during this period.

The feeling of giving birth to a child and becoming a mother compares to none but taking care of yourself post that it is extremely important. Try out the above-mentioned ways during the postpartum period, and most importantly, consult your doctor if the problems persist for a long.