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All about the postnatal visit
The monitoring of pregnancy and childbirth includes several prenatal examinations as well as a postnatal consultation. This test should be done 6 to 8 weeks after your delivery. Remember to make an appointment early enough. Midwife, general practitioner or obstetrician, the choice is yours! However, if you have had a complication during your pregnancy or childbirth, you must consult a doctor. This is the case, for example, if you have suffered from high blood pressure, diabetes or if your baby was born by cesarean section.
What does the postnatal consultation start with?
This consultation begins with an interrogation. The practitioner asks you about the aftermath of your childbirth, how breastfeeding is going, but also about your fatigue, your sleep or your diet. It also makes sure that your baby is doing well and that the baby blues are behind you. For your part, do not hesitate to let him know of any concerns, both physical and psychological, that may have arisen since your release from maternity.
The conduct of the medical examination
As during pregnancy, you will first take a little walk on the scale. Don’t panic if you haven’t regained your previous weight yet. It usually takes several months for the pounds to fly off. Then the doctor will take your blood pressure. It is important that he makes sure, especially in mothers who have had pre-eclampsia, that their blood pressure has returned to normal. Then it will perform a gynecological examination to check that the uterus has returned to its size, that the cervix is closed properly and that you have no abnormal discharge. THE’perineum examination is essential because this area undergoes a significant stretching during pregnancy and childbirth, and can be distended or still painful if you have had an episiotomy or a tear. Finally, the doctor examines your stomach (muscles, possible Caesarean scar) and your chest.
Contraception update
Generally, the choice of a contraceptive method is made before you leave the maternity ward. But between visits, baby care, the fatigue of childbirth, the quick return home … it is not always well adapted or followed. So now is the time to evoke it. The possibilities are numerous – pill, implant, patch, intrauterine device, local or natural method – and depend on several factors such as breastfeeding, medical contraindications, your desire for a near pregnancy or on the contrary your wish to do not do the second too quickly, your love life … No worries, you will certainly find the one that suits you best.
Read also: Contraception after childbirth
Rehabilitation of the perineum, a key point of the postnatal consultation
If the doctor or midwife has detected a decrease in tone in the muscles of the perineum or if you have trouble controlling your urge to urinate or have a bowel movement, perineal rehabilitation is necessary. This can also apply to mothers who have given birth by cesarean section. In general 10 sessions, reimbursed by Social Security, are prescribed. You can do them with a midwife or a physiotherapist. The method used depends on the practitioner, but also on any problems (urine leaks during exertion, difficulty in holding urine, heaviness, painful or unsatisfactory sexual intercourse, etc.). Usually, the first few sessions are used to become aware of that particular muscle, then work continues manually or using a small vaginal probe. Don’t be in too much of a hurry, however, to strengthen your abs. Appropriate exercises will only be recommended to you once the perineal rehabilitation has been completed.
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