During pregnancy, a woman’s body undergoes many different hormonal changes. All his systems and organs begin to function differently.
After childbirth, all these processes gradually return to normal, which may take four to eight weeks. However, some signs and changes that often appear in the postpartum period can alert a young mother.
If you are just preparing for the birth of a baby, it will be useful for you to learn about what changes will happen to your body after childbirth. It is also important to get information about the possible risks in order to try to prevent any complications in time.
Weight changes
While waiting for a baby, you can gain about ten kilograms, although this figure always varies for different women. This increase in body weight is due to the weight of the fetus, as well as due to the accumulation of fatty deposits. On the very first day after delivery, you will significantly lose weight, but soon the body weight will begin to gain again. This is completely normal in the postpartum period, as the absorption of calories from the food you eat increases during this time.
Typically, the weight is completely back to normal after breastfeeding is completed. Until this moment, it is highly discouraged to resort to various kinds of diets, because your baby needs all the nutrients in full. If you do not want to greatly gain weight, then start exercising a couple of months after giving birth, just do it within reasonable limits, do not overdo it.
With intense physical activity, milk can turn bitter and the baby will refuse to breastfeed.
Breast health
After childbirth, the lactation function of your mammary glands will reach its peak – they will begin to produce milk, which is necessary for a complete nutrition of the baby. A relatively stable composition of breast milk is established approximately two to two and a half weeks after delivery.
The pituitary gland is responsible for the production of breast milk. This organ produces a special hormone – prolactin, but the very functioning of your mammary glands will directly depend on the sucking process – the more often you apply the baby to the breast, the more milk will be produced. Breastfeeding is an excellent prevention of many postpartum complications, and it also contributes to the early recovery of the reproductive system. It must be remembered that even if you are breastfeeding, you can become pregnant, so you need to use contraception.
Discharge from the genital tract
Vaginal bleeding is normal immediately after childbirth. On the part of the uterus where the placenta was fixed, after the birth of the child, a large wound is formed, clots of mucus and blood remain in its cavity, which come out. A few days after delivery, the bloody discharge will turn into a yellowish transparent liquid.
As for the restoration of the menstrual cycle, it is directly associated with the restructuring of the main endocrine organs: the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. When breastfeeding, the hormone prolactin helps to inhibit the recovery process. However, you may have your period even before the end of the lactation period, although in this case the menstrual cycle is usually not accompanied by ovulation. However, you should be aware that even during breastfeeding, the egg can still mature.
Possible complications and diseases of the postpartum period
Immediately after giving birth, within one to two months, the organs of your body will begin to recover after pregnancy, during this period you may find some complications. Firstly, contractions of the uterus, which are necessary for its restoration, can deliver significant discomfort. You may feel pain in the lower abdomen, which will become more intense when you breastfeed your baby. As a rule, these sensations disappear a few days after childbirth buy xenical online.
If during the delivery process the uterus was greatly stretched, and your body lacks the hormone oxytocin, which is responsible for its contraction, then the cavity of this organ will not be fully cleansed. This is fraught with the development of such a frequent postpartum complication as endometritis, characterized by inflammation of the uterine lining. This condition is usually accompanied by severe pain, fever, profuse discharge from the genital tract with an unpleasant odor.
Another common problem is genital trauma, which can occur during childbirth. After childbirth, the doctor puts stitches, which either dissolve on their own, or the doctor will remove them before leaving the hospital on the 6th day. A scar on the eve of the vagina or in the vagina can give uncomfortable sensations during sexual intercourse, but as the tissue heals, these sensations will pass.After discharge from the hospital, be sure to visit your obstetrician-gynekol doctor
