Imagine spending nine months nursing a pregnancy, experiencing nausea, backaches, and fatigue and then you have expected body changes after delivery. Going through the harrowing transformations of muscle stretches and widening of the hip to allow your young one space. Making a placenta for better nourishment and finally facing labor, and birthing experience which is a roll coaster of emotions. Then when you think it’s done and dusted, and your bundle of joy is safe with you, does it dawn on you that the worse is yet to come. Asides from mom chronicles there are afterbirth consequences for the tackle. The rapid body growth and changes may have slowed down after delivery but trust it to have left a whole load of maintenance and fixing awaiting your care and attention. Adjusting back to your before pregnancy body will be an uphill task, and there is more to it than just baby fat. It takes a determined and psychologically prepared mind to easily wade through the changes simultaneously, a stitch in time saves nine or so they say. How long it takes to bounce back definitely depends on how much effort you put.
Expected body changes
- body aches and pain
Experiencing body pain after delivery comes naturally due to exhaustive pushing and uterine contraction is a common body changes after delivery. This gets better with time but can be escalated by the use of painkillers which must pass through a doctor’s prescription for safety during breastfeeding. For the cesarean deliveries the pain may be intense and last much longer because of incision. On the other hand, the pain may be caused by vaginal dryness which is very common in breastfeeding mums. A simple dose of estrogen cream can help sort this out but yet again run it by your doctor.
- Swollen feet, legs and ankles
The swelling in your lower extremities do not vanish instantly after delivery as is presumed by many as part of expected body changes. Research has it that the body produces slightly more blood during pregnancy than in normal days. The blood settles in the uterus for the development of the baby and moves to the lowers limbs immediately the uterus remains empty. That is what makes the swelling pronounced. This will disappear after a while but with a little effort from you:
- Do not stay on your feet for so long
- Drink plenty water and fluids
- Always put on comfortable shoes
- Stay away from processed foods
- Move around a little as a form of exercise
- Massage and stick to cool places
- Vaginal sore and Lochia
From the obstetric terms, lochia is the heavy vaginal discharge that contains mucus, blood, and uterine tissues; it is heavier than the menstrual flow and may happen for six weeks or there about. Medics’ advice against tampons in such situations as it may cause irritation, stick to heavy but comfortable sanitary pads. Also, it’s possible to get a tear during birthing. Could be a natural occurrence or caused by episiotomy which makes you end up with laceration stitches. Be sure to clean up well after bathroom visits to avoid infections.
- Stretch Marks
According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Many women develop stretch marks on their breasts, thighs, tummy and buttocks during gestation. However, this purely depends on your genes and weight gain. It’s also good to note that they might disappear after delivery or not. Its occurrence makes you feel mutilated but with the right topical ointments you may just succeed in diminishing them.
- Hair Shading
All thanks to the pregnancy hormones that grant hair follicles, most women have a smooth ride of hair growth during gestation. Then lose it all after delivery courtesy of the estrogen. Hair shading after delivery is normal body changes after delivery and shouldn’t get you worried; it probably will restructure and thicken after exclusive breastfeeding. Maintain your patience and keep hydrated.
- Breast enlargement and painful Breast-feeding
As a lactating mother, expect sore, flushed, Swollen, and milk engorged breasts is a common expected body changes. The swelling will go down immediately your breast feeding routine picks well, but will leave you with a sagged breast due to the weight load from the stretched skin. Occasional milk leakage with displaced nipples may as well be a part of your life coupled up with intense pain during breastfeeding. The pain may also emanate from the uterus which sinks back to normalcy during breast feeding.
- Developing Stomach Pooch
During pregnancy the belly undergoes the most changes which may bring excess flab, stretch marks and pooch as part of expected body changes. This may reduce in two months or so depending on how long your uterus takes to revert to its original size and position. Depending on how intense the stretching of the abdominal skin is, it may fail to taut. However, if you keep the abdominal muscles strong during pregnancy you may just be lucky by gaining a flat tummy soon enough. Also, you can evade the struggle by watching your diet and doing minor exercises to engage your muscles. This will help with controlling your weight gain.
- Frequent Constipation
It takes relatively four days to regain regular bowel movement after delivery. This is mainly because of a relapse on muscles after delivery; they instantly get weak and traumatized. Alternatively, it could be instant developed fear by a mother not wanting to rip her stitches. Irregular bowel movements irritate but you can loosen it by taking short walks or simply being active, staying hydrated all the time and eating foods rich in fiber. Top that up with whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Try worry less and concentrate in your intake, in the worst case scenario, request for stool softeners.
- Expect Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids, Wikipedia describes this as “swollen veins in your lower rectum, whereby rectum is the concluding part of the large intestine that terminates in the anus.” In reference to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, hemorrhoids are mainly caused by an over stretched bladder which sadly is the case in many expectant women. You may fail to notice the internal hemorrhoids but you will easily feel the external hemorrhoids when cleaning up after excretion. They may or may not be painful, but nonetheless do not panic or fear, just seek medical attention.
- Be ready for thicker legs and thighs
When a woman gets to the later stages of her pregnancy, she begins to slow down in her activities, observes poor nutrition and sleeps a lot. With this you automatically gain massive weight, and a huge part of it settles on the buttocks, thighs, and hips. This kind of weight lingers for way too long; you may just accept and live with it.
- Urinary Inconvenience
When it comes to urinary inconveniences, two things mainly happen as part of body changes after delivery. First, you may experience urine leak whenever you sneeze, cough or lift anything weighty. This happens because your muscles are strained and suppressed and cannot control the bladder. Secondly, you may experience abdominal pain or vaginal burning when passing urine. Alternatively, you may not be able to either urinate at all or to stop urinating. This is known as incontinence, and it fades away with time. To help ease your pain with these two, you should:
- Take on pelvic muscle strengthening exercises like kegel
- Observe the recommended 8 glasses of water daily
- Soak your body in warm baths during shower
And you know what they say, if symptoms persist, seek medical advice.
- Heavy Night Sweats
Progesterone and estrogen are the main hormones massively produced by the body during gestation. This however expected body changes as the body adjusts back to normalcy. This change leads to either decrease or increase in temperature which helps the body fight the unwanted fluids hence causing high level of perspiration. These are normal changes experienced by every mother post-delivery, they may not sit well with you but you can easily adjust to them. Always know that your doctor is just a call away, press the dial when need be.