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Month after childbirth: changes in the body. Video
The first month after childbirth is a happy, but rather difficult period for the body of a young mother, complicated by the processes of involution – the reverse restructuring of internal organs and systems. At this time, you should be especially careful about your health, because ultimately the health of your baby depends on it.
The first month after giving birth
Restoration of the genitourinary system
The postpartum period, during which the woman’s body is fully restored, usually lasts from 1,5 to 2 months, but all the main involutionary processes that make her healthy and able to take care of the baby are completed in the first month after childbirth. This, of course, does not apply to the work of the hormonal system and the mammary glands, which will continue to function in a special mode as long as the baby is breastfeeding.
Control your health and constantly measure the temperature – it is its increase that becomes an indicator of the appearance of complications and the presence of inflammatory processes
The main burden during pregnancy and childbirth falls on the genitourinary system. If the childbirth is the first, many of her organs have undergone changes characteristic of a woman giving birth. Immediately after childbirth, an intensive contraction of the uterus begins, the reverse development of hyperplastic and hypertrophied muscle structures, resorption of excess tissues. The uterus, which immediately after childbirth weighs about 1 kg, after a week decreases to 0,5 kg, and by the end of the postpartum period returns to its original size and weighs only 50–70 g.
Contraction of the uterus is accompanied by aching pains in the lower abdomen. The earliest completion of the process of uterine contraction is facilitated by breastfeeding – during it, a special hormone oxytocin is generated in the body, which contracts the uterus. This is what explains the increased aching pain when you feed your baby.
Immediately after childbirth, the inner surface of the walls of the uterus is a continuous wound, especially in those places to which the fetal bladder was attached. Blood clots and small remnants of the placenta will be removed from the uterus in the form of secretions (lochia), which have a characteristic odor. In the first 4–5 days, they will be abundant and bloody, then they will acquire a brown tint, and after 9–10 days – yellowish, their number will also decrease and by the end of the 3rd week they will become jelly-like and insignificant.
Before discharge from the hospital or immediately after it, you should have an ultrasound examination of the uterus and evaluate its condition in order to prevent the development of complications
But the healing of the uterus is not over yet, since the endometrial layer has not yet fully recovered, this will only happen by the end of the 8th week after birth. At this time, there is a great danger of getting infections, so sex should be postponed until the time when the wounds are healed.
Hygiene of the genitals during this period should be given increased attention also because there is scarring of the seams, if any, and ruptures of the vaginal mucosa
It is also decreasing, restoring the original volumes, and although it will not return to the prenatal state, it will approach it by the end of the 2nd month.
Menstrual function, when you are not breastfeeding, is restored almost immediately – after a month and a half you will have your first menstruation. In the event that you breastfeed your baby, they will appear in six months, but in any case, everything is individual.
Do not hope that natural feeding is contraception, you can with a high degree of probability not become pregnant during this period only if:
- the child is under six months old
- you feed him on demand and only breastfeed, you do not give complementary foods and supplements yet
- pre-morning feedings take place from 3 to 8 in the morning
During pregnancy and childbirth, the tone of the muscles of the bladder decreases, often in the first days after childbirth, women do not even feel the urge to urinate. Therefore, you need to go to the toilet every 2 hours to prevent overflow of the bladder, because this prevents the uterus from contracting and cleansing it and can provoke inflammation.
Restoration of other organs and systems
The cardiovascular system, working for two during gestation, gradually switches to normal operation, reducing the volume of circulating blood, this process can sometimes be accompanied by a rapid heartbeat. In the blood in the first weeks, there are a large number of platelets, which increase clotting and prevent blood loss.
Unfortunately, after childbirth, a complication such as hemorrhoids is often encountered.
Minor nodules can dissolve in the first week or two, but if the problem persists, it is necessary to consult a specialist, especially since the discomfort from hemorrhoids, as a rule, intensifies constipation. They are also a consequence of the decreased tone of the intestinal muscles, their expansion after the release of the fetus. This problem can be solved with proper nutrition, cereals and fiber-rich fruits. Massaging the abdomen while lying on your back helps a lot. Stroke it in a clockwise circular motion, increasing the pressure as you exhale.