Postpartum Recovery Timeline- 5 Tips for Natural Help

Our body after birth

So there we are, home with our baby! But what no one told us about is the pain we have- everywhere. Breastfeeding, in the beginning, may make our nipples sore and our breasts will probably feel tense and heavy. After a vaginal birth, from pushing, we experience swelling and pain in the whole “down” area. According to the duration of labor and delivery and whether there has been an Episiotomy, the intensity of our pain and the time it takes to heal may differ. So what exactly do we expect and what does the postpartum recovery timeline look like?

What will we experience during postpartum?

During postpartum, we will experience bleeding and afterpain, difficulty urinating and pooping and all that let aside- the change our body goes through leads to a total hormonal mess.

Recommendations for quick recovery

During those first six weeks after giving birth, we should:

Rest during about half of our waking hours
Not overdo it on activities like housework
Walking would be the only recommended exercise and we have to keep it light
No sexual intercourse is recommended.

Postpartum Recovery Timeline for Bleeding and Stitches

If you had an episiotomy, the stitches may take about one month to heal.
Bleeding is the heaviest during the first few days
The blood is bright during the first few days and there might be clots
After about ten days the bleeding gets less
Bleeding or spotting may continue up to 6 weeks after giving birth but should not get heavier again
Sudden heavier and bright red bleeding is a sign you are overdoing it
Up to 5% of all women get affected by postpartum hemorrhage, which is a heavy form of bleeding and appears mostly during the first 24 hours after birth. This requires seeing a doctor immediately

5 Tips for Natural Help

1. Make going to the toilet easy with plums!

There it comes- the day after delivery and the moment we feel we have to go to the toilet for the big business… and it scares the hell out of us. Everything hurts. Pushing something out again? Well, the good news is, we can help ourselves with some simple tricks:

High-fiber food like dried plums or apples soften our stool and so does drinking a lot of water
Try and sit similarly to squatting on the toilet seat, and it will come out almost without any pushing to be done!

2. Why is drinking a lot of water so important?

The more water we drink, the more we have to pee and the less burning it will become. Water is important anyway if we are breastfeeding and by drinking at least 2-3 liters a day, we help our body boost our immune system and heal.

3. A nice recommendation to relieve pain and swelling

My Doctor at the hospital recommended washing myself after every single time I had to pee, with water and mild soap. As it was summer, doing that with cold water was a simply fantastic way to get pain relief and a feeling of freshness! The cooling helps reduce swelling and the water and soap prevent infections, especially if there has been an episiotomy.

4. Drink a lot of Postpartum Tea!

Drinking tea made from natural, immune-boosting, and anti-bacterial ingredients has a lot of benefits for postpartum healing.

Read this article for further info and the full recipe!

5. Scrub your belly with some salt

Scrubbing your stomach with salt or other peelings, you can make your uterus shrink faster and exfoliate the skin to tighten again.

Summary

So, the first few days are hard, but the physical part gets better quickly as long as we take good care of ourselves! Look at your beautiful baby and try to forget about the pain at least for a moment. Wasn`t it totally worth it?