Physical recovery after a natural birth or cesarean

After giving birth it’s not all over! We always prepare for labor, delivery and return home but what happens immediately? What will happen during my hospital stay? It is difficult to explain this to you because each maternity ward is different.

In many hospitals it is possible to visit the maternity ward in advance, which can be of great help because in this way you can evaluate for yourself whether the structure you have chosen can give you the birth and post assistance you want. Information is very important to protect yourself, to better enjoy those days and be serene.

What happens immediately after your baby is born?

However the child is born into the world, if the child and mother are well, it is placed naked on the mother’s chest.

In case of spontaneous delivery, after delivery , which is the expulsion of the placenta, while the baby is on your chest, the midwife will check if there is a laceration and if you need a suture. After a vaginal birth you will stay in the delivery room for two hours, you will be able to lie down with your baby during that time, rest a little while he suckles at the breast, enjoy his birth with your partner or take a bath with him if the facility has a tub in the delivery room.

If you gave birth by cesarean, the baby will be with you the entire time of the suture, unless the pediatrician wants to see him in the meantime that they finish the suture. In this case he will be identified with a bracelet that will match yours, with your first and last names, time of delivery and day. Once the suture is finished they will take you on a stretcher to the room, where you will slowly begin to recover.

In the two hours immediately following delivery, they will keep you under control, measuring your pressure, pulse, locus and urination.

Lochias are losses , very abundant in the first few days which will then gradually decrease with the passage of time. You may have headaches, pain in the vagina and anus, and general soreness. Give your body time to recover, stay in bed, let people take care of you so you can take care of yourself and your baby.

If you had a cesarean delivery?

A cesarean birth is to all intents and purposes a surgical operation and absolute rest is needed to recover energy and give the body time to recover but unfortunately this does not happen. Every woman reacts differently and you will be able to notice yourself, if you have already had a cesarean, the difference in recovery. There are women who recover immediately after a few hours and other women who need weeks.

The hospital stay after a cesarean section

This changes from structure. You will have to lie down, they will give you food and drink only when they deem it appropriate. The suture may pull, be painful, the first movements will be very difficult. This is why it is essential, but often this is not the case, to have assistance for every day of hospitalization, especially at night because you are more tired and the baby usually cries more.

I recommend sleeping close to your baby so as to encourage the arrival of the milky froth and be able to rest more between one feed and another. Just as it is true that you should always have a person by your side, it is also true that visits should be limited .

Try to sleep even during the day, the more rested you are, the more your mood improves. And call, call, call, don’t be afraid to seem boring or disturbing, the healthcare staff is there especially for you.

As previously mentioned, there may be pain at the suture but painkillers can be administered if necessary and can be taken during breastfeeding.

Have your breastfeeding pillow or pillows brought from home, you must be comfortable both when you rest and when you breastfeed so as not to work with the muscles of the abdomen. It is important to get out of bed and walk within 24 hours of the operation to get the circulation going again and avoid the formation of blood clots in the veins.

You will have venous access where you will be given fluids for the first two days and you will have a bladder emptying catheter which will be removed after 8-12 hours to avoid urinary infections. You can, when you feel like it, with the help of the staff or your partner/mother, take a shower so you feel nice and clean.

Some recommend the use of postpartum slings to contain the wound, walk upright, and thus reduce pain. It is essential that it is a band that supports from the bottom upwards and not that pushes everything downwards from the top because you have a weak perineal muscle and this can lead to incontinence and stress on the muscle itself.

Remember that you can ask to keep the placenta , especially if the cesarean delivery took place in a planned and non-urgent way, therefore it is not necessary to send it to the histologist. Many families decide to keep it and take it away and then bury it under a plant as a sign of gratitude.

Frequent ailments

Constipation .

It is a frequent annoyance. In fact, in the hours following the surgery you will only be given liquids to take such as tea, broth, water, followed by chicken, puree and only after 36-48 hours will your diet return to normal. I advise you to take some chamomile tea because it relaxes the abdomen and helps to get rid of the wind.

Itching .

It is caused by the drugs used during anesthesia. It usually goes away after two to three days.

Sweating and shivering.

Your body temperature is higher during pregnancy, breastfeeding and postpartum.

Headache .

Spinal anesthesia can be the cause and it is a pain that improves with a lying position in the first hours following the operation and with rest.

Practical advice for the postpartum

Recover your energy! Take advantage of it to rest as much as you can, ask for help from midwives, child nurses, gynecologists, obs. Let yourself be pampered by the health personnel, ask, ask a thousand questions, so as to go home rested and calm.

Put your baby to the breast whenever you and he want. The more the baby sucks, the sooner the milk froth arrives. Do a lot of skin to skin, sleep with your baby and ask the midwives to check the attachment to the breast, if suction is effective, how to massage your breasts, so as to have the very first correct information on breastfeeding.

You always ask and do things yourself. Have him explain how to dress the newborn, change the diaper, medicate the cord, give him a bath. Ask a thousand times for an explanation and don’t let the staff do these things but do everything yourself because then you will be alone at home and you won’t panic.

Finally on the third/fourth day you will be discharged from the hospital. You will be given a vaginal visit with ultrasound and a pediatric visit to the newborn.
Remember that if you don’t feel comfortable in the hospital, if you need your things and to be surrounded by people who love you and any other children you have, you can ask to leave with an early discharge .

At home

Remember to check the scar. If it turns red, contact your midwife. If liquid comes out or the wound hardens, don’t worry, it’s normal. Make clay poultices to facilitate its healing and for further information consult Innecesareo Onlus .

Eat healthily and hydrate properly .

Exercise but wait for an evaluation of the perineum, which you can do with your midwife once the lochias are finished. Only after having rehabilitated the perineum can you start doing abs, going to the gym and lifting weights. In the meantime, take long walks with your baby.

You can have sex when you feel like it. After a few weeks, the scar usually no longer hurts and the woman feels free to move and penetration and orgasm don’t cause problems.

“Cesarean is a formidable intervention to deliver some children with problems, but it is a tragedy that it becomes a habitual way of being born ”
Michel Odent