Recovery from Vaginal Birth: Weeks 1-2
At Expecting and Empowered, we are passionate about helping mamas to be their best selves. Having a newborn is one of the most exciting and stressful times of your life, and so much attention is focused on the new baby. However it is important to remember that HOW and WHAT you do during the initial healing can shape your short and long term recovery. Taking an active role in your healing can help recovery go smoother, helping you get out of pain quicker and back to doing the normal activities of life such as exercise, sex, sitting on a chair, etc. Here are some of our best tips for healing after a vaginal delivery:
Help your perineum heal.
Ice your lady parts often! Ice for 30 minutes, 6 times a day the first couple days. But don’t forget to keep icing the following weeks. You can decrease the frequency with which you ice according to how it’s feeling. (Note-the compression leggings we suggest make icing easy because you can just stick the ice pack in your pants!)
Spray warm water over the area before and after peeing to keep urine from irritating torn skin (using a peri-bottle).
Try warm sitz baths (see below) for 20 minutes a few times a day to ease pain.
Aim to avoid long periods of standing, sitting or sleeping on your side.
Do your kegels. You may be thinking, I just pushed a baby out of this area and you want me to do what? Doing light pelvic floor muscle contractions aka “kegels” where you contract your pelvic floor and relax it quickly helps pump blood into the area which brings in nutrients to help your pelvic floor heal. It also helps your brain to bring awareness to this area. It is important to retrain this connection because when you were pregnant, the baby put a lot of extra pressure on this area. Doing light kegels will help re-introduce your body to what normal looks and feels like.
Wake up the supporting areas:
Diaphragmatic Breathing: Your diaphragm sits at the bottom of your rib cage. To do a proper diaphragmatic breath, inhale to expand your bottom ribs. Do not allow your chest to rise! Take 10 deep breaths every hour. You could practice this before or after a feeding to be consistent. Your diaphragm is no longer getting squished by a baby so you have to re-teach it how to move. Inhaling and exhaling gets the pelvic floor to contract and relax. The goal here is to automate your body so you can feel yourself again quickly and this also helps get rid of your belly quicker.
Transverse Abdominal Contractions: This is your deepest abdominal muscle. Its has been expanded during pregnancy so post baby the goal is to wake it back up. This muscle is an essential piece of core function. To active, act like there is a wire on the front side of your hips and draw that inward, pulling your tailbone up and in toward your belly button as if you are putting on a tight pair of pants. Perform 10 contractions, 3-5 times per day.
Control the swelling: Definitely need to re-iterate ice. Also, acetaminophen usually 600mg or more (under 600mg is used for pain only, 600mg helps control swelling too). Gently work on pumping new nutrients into the area to promote healing by doing the Kegel and TA contraction techniques outlined above. Be conscious of what you are putting into your body- now is a good time to load up on anti-inflammatory foods such as berries, avocados, green tea, fish, broccoli, etc.
Ease aches and pains. Just like having sore legs after a 5K, your muscles get sore during birth as well. So ease overall achiness with hot showers, a heating pad, stretching, foam rolling and giving those areas a little extra love.
Stay regular. The first post-baby bowel movement can be scary so here are some tips to make it smoother. Literally ;)
It’s all in the preparation! Eat plenty of fiber-rich foods (whole grains, fruits, veggies). This is mind blowing to me but most hospitals don’t have nutrient-dense food. I make veggie egg muffins to bring with me to the hospital and order just a yogurt and English muffin to go along with it from the food service. I also make my friends and family bring me healthy options. I know it’s so darn tempting to eat a cheeseburger because dang girl you earned it but remember: everything in moderation.
Go for walks regularly
If you need to, use gentle stool softeners to get and stay regular.
Avoid straining, which isn’t good for perineal tears. While you defecate, blow as if you are blowing out birthday candles and try to RELAX your pelvic floor.
Be kind to your breasts. For achy breasts, try using a warm compress or ice packs and gentle massage. Also be sure to wear a comfortable nursing bra. Apply a lanolin cream to prevent or treat cracked nipples. Believe in yourself. Sometimes milk doesn’t come in right away if it’s your first and you start to question if your baby is getting enough. Have confidence in your body- it is made to do this.
Keep your doctor appointments. You might think that since you had the baby, everything is all fine and dandy. However, it is important to still check in with your OBGYN on a regular basis to ensure that everything is healing as expected. This way you can also let your doctor know if you have any symptoms that are concerning, such as fever, pain or tenderness around an incision.
Eat well to ease fatigue and fight constipation.
Eat a combination of healthy fats and protein for energy. Plus plenty of fiber (found in fruits, veggies and whole grains) to avoid pressure downward —hemorrhoids.
Drink at least 64 ounces (about eight glasses) of water every day. And try to skip the alcohol and caffeine, which can affect your mood and make it even more challenging to sleep than it already is with a newborn at home.
Keep moving. Exercise can help speed recovery by boosting circulation and muscle tone. Plus it boosts your mood and has been shown to help ease depression-like symptoms. Try these postpartum exercise tips to get started.
Your Postpartum Recovery Checklist
Here are a few things you’ll want to stash away while you’re still pregnant to make your postpartum recovery go as smoothly as possible:
Postpartum Workout Guide: The guide gives you instructions from day one on how to assist your body to heal properly! Starting at 6 weeks, there are 3 days of resistance training outlined for you that will help your body heal from the deep core outward and also helps with postpartum aches and pains such as neck pain, mid back pain, low back, wrist pain and more.
Postpartum Compression Pants: These are amazing to help control the swelling which in turn reduces pain, less scaring and provides support until your body can figure it out again. These are also great because you can just stick an ice pack right down these pants when you ice your lady parts.
Acetaminophen. It can help with perineal pain, overall aches, and help reduce swelling.
Maxi pads. Postpartum bleeding can last weeks to months.
Ice packs. There are lots of ways to ice your perineal area — from frozen padsicles to your standard lunchbox ice blocks (wrapped in paper towels, of course, to avoid frostbite).
Sitz bath. This little tub is designed for you to just sit and soak away postpartum pain.
Peri or squirt bottle. You’ll use this to rinse off your perineal area before/after peeing as the area heals.
Cotton underpants. Baobei makes great ones or hospital gauze underwear — comfort is much more important for now than looking sexy. I take a pack or two home with me upon discharge.
Nursing bras. (link baobei) Invest in a few comfy ones that fit you well. Our favorite is the adore maternity and nursing bralette by Baobei Maternity.
Lanolin. The cream works wonders to prevent and treat cracked nipples.
Nursing pads. If you’re planning to breastfeed, these are a lifesaver! They make them in reusable or disposable, depending on your preference.
Lidocaine spray. It helps ease the pain of postpartum hemorrhoids.
Stool softener. In case you get stopped up, this can gently help get things going.
Heating pad. This can help ease aches and pains in your breasts.
If you have hemorrhoids:
Witch hazel pads. This is often used in combination with ice packs to ease vaginal pain and help with postpartum hemorrhoids.
Mental Check- In
These are great tips for healing physically. Healing mentally and emotionally is important too because being a mama can be so darn hard. Take some time to rejoice about how much of a bad ass you are! You literally just birthed a baby. Being a mama comes with fears and anxieties for even the most laid back mamas. Take time for yourself. Know that the newborn haze is just a phase and you will come out on the other side. Let people help you get through this phase! Let you mother in law hold the baby so you can take a shower (even if she is not holding your baby the way they like. Show her how they like to be held). Let your husband take the baby so you can run to the grocery store by yourself. Don’t lose that sense of you. If you are struggling, check in with someone. There are people out there who want to help you!!