Postpartum Healing

Baby Theo is four weeks old now and I’m starting to feel back to my old self. This postpartum journey has been relatively easy for me since I had no tear or stitches to heal up. Read my birth story here. Regardless, my postpartum healing is taking time because bringing a baby into the world is both physically and emotionally taxing. Most doctors give a woman six weeks to heal up before resuming regular activities after giving birth like lifting heavy things, having sex, exercising rigorously, etc. But in reality, postpartum healing can take even longer.

I didn’t know what postpartum healing would look like with my first baby because it isn’t something people usually talk about. Most ask the mom, “How are you feeling?” after baby is born, but they don’t necessarily want to hear the details of your inflamed privates. To me, the first week was the hardest. Not only are you adjusting to life with a new baby, but your body is still in a lot of pain. Here’s some physical discomforts you will likely battle the weeks after giving vaginal birth:

Engorgement

Your breast milk will come in around Day 3 or 4 after birth and for the next several days you will be extremely uncomfortable. Some people don’t get too engorged, but others have a supply which causes their breast size to swell from about an A cup to a DD. Your boobs will ache and you will probably get stretch marks there. The ways to combat engorgement are similar to the ways to decrease your milk supply when weaning. Be sure not to pump all your milk out like I did with my first born. Then your engorgement can last even longer!

Sore/Cracked Nipples

By Day 2 after birth, your nipples will start to be very sore if breastfeeding. It will get worse to the point you wince every time your baby latches. This will go away, usually by the end of Week 2, but in the mean time you can rub breast milk on your nipples after every feeding to help them heal. Some women use lanolin cream but I’ve found breast milk to work just as well (plus it’s free!).

Infections

It is very common to get urinary tract infections and vaginal infections after giving birth. Ways to prevent this include soaking your bum in the bath 4-6 times a day, using a squeeze bottle to squirt your privates with water immediately after peeing, and changing your pad often. You can also get infections in your breasts like mastitis from incorrect latch or other breastfeeding practices. To prevent mastitis, consult a lactation consultant early on when baby is learning to breast feed and be sure to always let your breasts leak milk when they need to.

Blood loss

You will continue bleeding for sure through the whole first week after giving birth. You will go through a lot of pads. Often you will bleed when you poop as well, sometimes experiencing hemorrhoids. To avoid this, be sure you eat lots of fiber and drink 3 times the normal amount of water!

Contractions

You might think contractions only happen in labor, but they actually continue on until your uterus is back to its normal size, sometimes for more than a week after birth. The first week you will experience contractions each time baby breastfeeds and sometimes when doing mild exercise. Contractions usually are not that painful with your first child but become more painful with each birth. My postpartum contractions with my third baby were very painful and some were as difficult as labor pains to get through.

Leaking everywhere

Your breasts will leak milk a lot as your body tries to regulate the right amount of supply. Your urethra will leak pee often because it is weakened after giving birth. Your vagina will leak all kinds of you don’t want to know what. You’ll be leaking everywhere so expect to do lots of laundry.

Depression

Usually signs of postpartum depression start to become evident between weeks 2-4. If you feel resentment towards your baby, anger about your birth experience, or just so much fatigue and stress that you can’t get out of bed, you need to reach out for help. If you experience postpartum depression, it does not mean you are a bad mom and you should not feel guilty. It is okay, you should tell someone how you feel. As I learned from sharing Theo’s birth story, just talking through hard feelings makes you feel so much better. If you seek help from family, friends, and professionals, it will pass.

This list makes postpartum healing seem like it is a feat to conquer. But what you can’t categorize or prepare for is the incredible rush of endorphins every time you hold your baby, smell their sweet newborn scent, and gaze into their little eyes. The emotional high you feel after giving birth does subside, but while it’s around, those endorphins are wonderful for helping a new mom get past physical discomforts and enjoy their baby.

Postpartum healing can sometimes feel complete after 4 weeks and sometimes feel far from completion even at 6 weeks after birth. Everyone is different. It’s important to give your body time to feel back to normal and your emotions to adjust to a new normal with the baby around. I hope this list helped prepare you for what is to come if you are expecting your first child. Please share with anyone you think could benefit from this bit of knowledge!