How a woman’s body changes postpartum

A woman’s body goes through a lot of changes from when she gets pregnant to when she delivers.

Of course, pregnancy makes a woman’s feet swollen, her nose large, hair appears in strange places and countless other changes but even postpartum, her body is not the same.

Here is how a woman’s body changes postpartum;

Her breasts changes

Her breasts get swollen and tender because it is now filled with milk, not to mention the fact that her new baby has to suck from it daily.

It is usually advisable that she uses warm water to massage her breasts. Her breast might return to its normal size or ‘fall’ after breastfeeding, there is no way to know which would happen.

Her vagina also changes

She just had a baby come out from there. Depending on whether she has a c-section or vaginal birth, her vaginal will expand, though it will return to normal after a while

If she has a vaginal birth, then her vagina and cervix would not remain the same. She might even experience incontinence and pain in her vagina that resembles cramps for a couple of days after childbirth.

Sitting in warm water, known as a sitz bath, plus, painkillers help. It is also normal if she notices bleeding for about six weeks, but if the bloody discharge is much, then she might have an infection.

Hormones and mood swings

After childbirth, estrogen and progesterone drop to a very low degree, this might cause her to feel what might be termed baby blues. She might feel sad, moody, anxious and depressed. If left alone, it might graduate to postpartum depression.

She also experiences the mothering ‘high’ because of the release of oxycontin that comes with being a new mother. Oxycontin also increases her anxiety.

Veins appears

After childbirth, it is also normal to see spider veins, varicose veins and stretch marks. They ease up after a while although some never go away.

A woman who has just given birth is in her most fragile state, she deserves all the care and attention she can get.

SOURCE: Pulse Nigeria