9 Things Not to Do After Giving Birth
The birth of a child after a pregnancy is the start of another journey called motherhood. Parenting comes with a bundle of responsibilities, childcare, and postpartum recovery. While you get fully engrossed in the new role as a mother, you may need to know that taking care of your health is necessary and at the sametime care for the newborn.
A mother may enthusiastically feel relieved to get back to sleep on her stomach, get to workout, bend, twist and turn after delivery. However, postpartum is a stage that requires enough self care and nourishment. She will need to understand that the body needs to replenish the energy through rest, pain management, and a complete healing before plunging into excessive workloads and activities. Some mothers are drowned in postpartum depression that can affect both the mother and child considerably. Through this article let’s understand the things to avoid after giving birth and the timeline of postpartum recovery.
Table of Content
Feel free to skip ahead if one topic catches your eye:
- Avoid Physical activities
- Don’t Insert anything in Your sensitive area
- Remember to take Birth Control
- Don’t Ignore Pain
- Avoid Holding your bladder too long
- Stay away from Postpartum Depression
- Avoid wearing tight and underwire Bras
- Don’t neglect your Nutrition
- Don’t Rush for Quick Postpartum Recovery Time
1. Avoid Physical Activities
Getting back to shape may be your priority on your to-do list after delivery. Yes, losing those extra kilos is necessary but not immediately after giving birth. Overexercising, bending, heavyweights lifting, immediately after delivery can hamper the Post-partum healing process leading to injury, muscle strains, abdominal pain, and even increased bleeding.
It is for sure that the day's post-childbirth is filled with less sleep, endless feedings, restless child care, and nursing. Getting enough rest, taking care of yourself is important at the moment.
Regain back your physical strength, energies through relaxation and take baby steps when you start exercising again post-delivery. Start with slow walking, carrying out day-to-day activities, and consult your doctor before you decide to get into an intense workout regime.
2. Don’t insert anything in your sensitive area
The internal reproductive tract of a woman has undergone a delivery, the uterus is under-recovery, and vaginal bleeding lasts for around 2 to 6 weeks post-delivery. So, the vaginal region is more vulnerable to infections.
If you have had a vaginal repair, you will need more rest and less pressure in the healing region. Inserting anything including menstrual cups, tampons, or having intercourse during this period can increase the probabilities of infection, especially in the wounds. And if you have had a vaginal delivery, the pelvic and cervix gets dilated which will need time to regain the normal size.
It is always advised to ask your doctor about the recovery time after childbirth and know when it is safe to insert anything into the sensitive healing areas.
3. Remember to Take Birth Control
It’s a myth that if you think you cannot get pregnant while breastfeeding. The truth is that you can get pregnant within 6 to 8 weeks after giving birth. The fact is breastfeeding cannot stop ovulation and in a few, ovulation can start soon after delivery. If you are not planning for another child soon, do not hesitate to take the necessary precautions for birth control like use of condoms, Intrauterine device (IUD), sterilization, birth control device, and injections.
If you are considering hormonal pills and birth control tablets, talk to your doctor to know when you can take them as you would be breastfeeding as well.
4. Don’t Ignore Pain
Pain is part and parcel of the post-delivery recovery process. Be it vaginal delivery or a C-section, every woman who has undergone a delivery and childbirth process does undergo a certain level of pain. However, the duration and type of pain differ individually and on the type of pregnancy. Pain and discomfort after childbirth are normal and healing pain. This includes:
- Stomach cramps as the uterus are shrinking and regaining its normal shape
- Pain near the vagina due to the healing of wounds
- Pain, swelling near the stitches and incisions if any
- Pain in the shoulders, neck, and back
- Swelling of breasts due to blood flow and milk supply
However, if you experience any one or more of the symptoms such as severe headaches, fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, painful urination, excessive vaginal bleeding, pain in the specific breast area with redness, swelling of legs, breathing difficulty, or chest pain, speak to your gynecologist immediately and get the necessary treatment.
5. Avoid holding your Bladder too Long
Among the various things to avoid after giving birth, holding your bladder too is to be avoided. The reason is that during delivery, the stretching of pelvic muscles combined with the hormonal changes causes bladder sensitivity and the weakening of muscles that control the bladder. Hence, almost one out of three women experience urinary incontinence Postpartum. Holding the bladder for a long time can exert more pressure on the bladder controlling muscles. Allow the muscles to relax until it regains its normal functions.
6. Stay Away from Postpartum Depression
Psychological issues after childbirth can be postpartum depression causing combined feelings of grief, anxiety, depression, and stress. Nearly 80% of mothers are affected with baby blues after delivery. Some of the common postpartum depression symptoms experienced by almost 1 in 5 women after giving birth are:
- Getting angry soon
- Crying
- A sense of feeling lonely and left out
- Not happy and nor feeling joyful
- Having a doubt on yourself about basic baby care
- A feeling of detachment from your baby
- Tension and stress of hurting the newborn
It is indeed a hard job to deal with depression after childbirth. But, postpartum stroke recovery is essential because this may impact the child, self care, and your concern towards the child.
- Look for support like your partner, a close friend, or family, and talk to them about how you are feeling.
- Consider joining a local parent group for like-minded talks and additional support.
- Inform your doctor about the feelings and disturbing behavioral patterns.
7. Avoid wearing tight and Underwire Bras
While you look into various aspects of self-care after giving birth, nursing mothers will need to take care of their clothing, especially the bras. Women after delivery have painful and tender breasts filled with overflowing mammary glands. Hence, care for the feeding breasts by avoiding tight and underwire bras. These tight and uncomfortable inner liners can hurt, restrict the blood flow and milk flow.
Breasts become heavy and light during breastfeeding, consider comfortable fitting, breathable bras with easy close and open options while feeding.
8. Don’t Neglect your Nutrition
Along with nourishing the baby, it is required to take care of your nutrition as well. During breastfeeding, your body will require almost 450-500 more calories to support feeding and nutrition supply to the child. Wholesome nutrition can be accomplished by:
- Whole grains, lean protein
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Foods with low saturated fats and sugars
- Consider taking essential vitamins
- Keeping yourself hydrated
9. Don’t Rush For Quick Postpartum Recovery Time
It is normal for a woman to undergo physical, emotional, and psychological transformations postpartum. Generally, the postpartum recovery period is around 6 weeks but, for mothers who have delivered the child via C-section, the recovery time after delivery will be more than 8 weeks.
C-section deliveries are major surgical procedures and will need healing of wounds, sutures both internally and externally. Bleeding too is a part of the postpartum effects that will need to be addressed. Listen to your body, get ample rest to re-energize yourself, do not overdo anything, and concentrate on self-care along with baby care during the recovery time after giving birth. Do not think or try doing anything that could speed up the recovery process as the sensitive reproductive organs and hormonal balance can be affected in the process.
Take Away
Recovery time for normal delivery is faster with 2 to 6 weeks of postpartum period. In all the processes of delivery, postpartum depression, child care, and breastfeeding, don't neglect the main prospect of taking care of yourself. Nourish your body with a well-balanced diet, Get ample rest, do not exercise until recommended, do not wear tight and body cling clothes, remember that your body is healing and needs attention and care. For further assistance, get the best resource up and connect with Dr. Puja; best gynecologist in south delhi will guide you through the rough rides of the post-delivery period.
Dr. Puja’s Clinic provides the most updated and upgraded services of women’s health issues before pregnancy, during, and after pregnancy.
