Navigating Postpartum Health Concerns

This is a collaborative post .

Having a baby is a huge life event. The pregnancy can affect your body in many ways, and once you have your baby, it doesn’t end there. After giving birth naturally or having a caesarean, it’s going to take a while before you feel like yourself again. You need to allow yourself plenty of recovery time, which can be difficult when you have a new-born to care for. After having your baby, you should make sure you think about some important issues. Make yourself aware of some problems that could affect you. Pay attention to these potential concerns postpartum.

Infections

After you have your baby, there is a small risk of an infection. It could be in a number of places, from your uterus to your kidneys or bladder. If you’ve had a caesarean or episiotomy, it’s also important to take care of the the surgical area. A uterine infection might occur if pieces of the placenta don’t disconnect from the uterine wall. It could also happen due to an infection in the amniotic sac. It’s important to watch out for flu-like symptoms, which could indicate an infection. If you have had surgery, following the care instructions and attending follow-ups is essential.

Breasts and Breastfeeding

You can experience issues with your breasts postpartum, whether you have chosen to breastfeed or not. Your breasts can become enlarged when your milk comes in which may be uncomfortable. If you have chosen to breastfeed, they should reduce in size once you are feeding your baby regularly. If you haven’t, it will take a few days for your body to stop producing milk. There are ways to ease discomfort, from using ice packs to expressing milk. You may also need to watch out for other problems. For example, some women experience mastitis, which is an infection, or clogged milk ducts.

Preventing Pregnancy After Birth

For many women, the last thing they want after giving birth is to think about getting pregnant again. However, you might be thinking about how to avoid it. Having a newborn might serve as its own contraceptive for a while. But you’re sure to want to think about your options soon. You can use male and female condoms, plus the progestogen-only contraceptive pill as soon as you feel ready to. However, you should wait to use other forms of contraceptive. A contraceptive implant is suitable 21 days after birth. You can also use the patch, combined pill or vaginal ring if you’re not breastfeeding. Six weeks after birth, you might be able to use the injection, diaphragm or cap. After six to eight weeks, you can consider an IUD.

Getting Back into Shape

Getting back into shape is often a concern for new mothers – although not always right away! It’s important not to rush yourself to get your “pre-pregnancy body” back. Eating a balanced diet and exercising are both excellent ideas, but you need time to recover too. Start with light exercises to help you get into a routine before you do anything more rigorous.

Change in Diet

If you’re anything like me you used pregnancy as a chance to relax your diet. Eating things that you may not normal allow your self to eat . After all being pregnant is hard work and a choclate bar at 9.00pm in the evening is something you deserve right? .

Now baby is here maybe you might use this time to try something different. Maybe you have wanted to always live a vegan lifestyle. Just make sure your being careful as such a change in your diet can have an effect on your body. Especially after your body has gone through so much. It may be useful to do a vegan test. Which will look to see if you have any nutrient deficiencies. This way you will know how to adapt your new lifestyle and diet to ensure you have the nutrients you need. If your a US reader of my blog then you can grab yourself  15% off vegan test that tests for these nutrient deficiencies from Health Labs by clicking here.

Postpartum health concerns can be just as scary as any you might have had during pregnancy. Feeling like your old self again can take a while, but you’ll get there eventually. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support as the world class consultants over at Guys & St Thomas are there to help.