Post-Birth Recovery
What happens in the hospital immediately after I give birth?
After you give birth in most hospitals, you will have a recovery period. Immediately after you deliver the baby, the physician will then deliver the placenta, then the nurse will clean you up and position the baby with you. Sometimes you can immediately begin breast feeding. After that immediate period, you're usually transferred into what's called a post partum unit within the hospital. This is a bed, sometimes it's in a shared room, sometimes it's private, where you will recover. Most women stay in hospital one to two days after a vaginal delivery. Most women stay in hospital three to four days after a cesarean section. In that recovery area in hospital, you will simply recover. You will be attended to by nurses. You will have lactation specialists that may consult with you. You can shower, eat, ambulate, use the restroom; all your ammenities are available to you. You can pretty much do everything just having additional nursing care while you're in the recovery room in hospital.
What are the common symptoms I may endure after childbirth?
After childbirth, there are typically two symptoms that occur. The first is bleeding. It's common after a vaginal delivery to have bleeding. You could expect bleeding to occur for as long as six weeks after childbirth. It should taper off over that period of time. If two weeks go by and the bleeding tapers off and all of a sudden it becomes heavier, you might want to contact your physician. But, if over the six week period time it's slowly tapering off, that's normal. Also, contractions. Uterine cramping is very common after childbirth, especially if you're breast-feeding. The hormone released to cause breast milk to be excreted is the same hormone that contracts your uterus, and you may find that you have pretty intense cramping immediately after you've had the baby. That can last anywhere from two to three days up to two to three weeks sometimes, and eventually that pain does get better as well.
What can I do in order to fully recover from childbirth faster?
To fully recover from childbirth the best thing to do is to be patient. If you're patient, then over time a lot of the fluid retention will go away, a lot of the baby weight will go away. If you listen to your doctor and don't do anything vigorous for at least the first 2-4 weeks, and some doctors recommend 4-6 weeks, then you can resume normal activities. If you're breastfeeding that tends to make your uterus cramp down and your abdomen to get smaller more quickly, and it tends to make you lose weight more quickly as well. The truth is, the best thing to do is be patient. Immediately after the birth things aren't going to resume to normal right way, but over time they do get back to normal.
When should I call my doctor during my recovery from childbirth?
When you get home after you've left the hospital, sometimes you may wonder why you might a physician. If your bleeding has been tapering off but all of a sudden increases in volume, if pain had been getting better but all of a sudden gets worse, if you develop a fever or extreme breast tenderness or soreness or a foul oder coming from any parts of your body, then it's strongly recommended that you call your physician just to inform them of what's happening. They may treat you over the phone or, if they feel it's necessary, have you come in to examine you.