Download Caring for Mom After Baby Comes Home

PRACTICAL HEALTH ADVICE FROM YOUR
NEIGHBOURHOOD SAFEWAY PHAMACIST
Caring for Mom After Baby Comes Home
f you are pregnant, chances are you are doing
everything you can to guarantee that you will
have a healthy baby. How can the transition
from healthy expectant mom to healthy mom and
baby be made easily? The first week or so at home
with your new baby is critical to your baby's and
your own health and well being. The best way to
be sure things go smoothly is to take care of yourself.
You need rest and time with your new baby. That
may sound selfish but face it, giving birth is hard
work, both physically and emotionally. You must
make sure you are strong and rested so you can
give better care to your newborn baby.
I
Rest
Eight hours of interrupted sleep is not enough. You
must sleep during the day to meet the needs of a
new mother. Do not feel guilty taking naps. If you
have older children, consider having friends or relatives care for them for a few days, either part or
full time.
If this is not possible, consider taking short naps
when your situation allows it.
If you do not get enough sleep, you will be less
able to cope with increased demands and, if you
are breast feeding, your milk production will be
reduced. This can turn into a vicious cycle. Too little sleep reduces milk production so baby must
feed more often, and this often means extra night
time feedings, which in turn leads back to less
sleep for mother. All new mothers, whether they
breast feed or not, need enough sleep.
To adapt to your new role, you need one-on-one
time with your baby. This means setting priorities.
This is not the time to keep a spotless house, or
have gourmet meals unless someone else is willing to do it for you. Your husband and older children may have to fend for themselves for a few
days. You may be able to enlist the help of friends
and family to accomplish daily chores.
Visitors are often glad to help but be aware that
some may not recognize your need to be with the
baby and get your rest. Arrange to have family
and friends visit only by appointment. Otherwise
they may drop in without warning just as you are
getting to sleep. When visitors ask what they can
do to help, suggest doing the dishes or a load of
laundry while they visit or ask them to bring a
meal.
Baby Blues
Often new mothers will be tearful at some point
during that first week. This is very normal. The
hormone changes after delivery and the emotional
nature of childbirth both contribute to these feelings. Most mothers recover from these up and
down mood swings on their own. A few women
have more severe emotional upset which lasts for
weeks to months. If you are concerned about
being depressed or angry and the feeling is not
going away, see your doctor.
Perineal Care
After a vaginal delivery, it is very likely that your
bottom end (perineum) will be sore. You must
keep this area clean to allow healing and reduce
your chances of infection. Even if you don't have
stitches, it is recommended that you use a squirt
bottle to spray warm water over your perineum
every time you use the bathroom.
If there is swelling or bruising, you may wish to
consider using ice packs wrapped in a clean tea
towel a few times a day for several minutes. For
comfort and hygiene, some women like to use sitz
baths, sitting and soaking in lukewarm water that
may or may not contain salt or epsom salts.
The amount of bleeding you have will vary. Your
flow is likely to start like a very heavy period and
taper off over one to three weeks. Some women
find they need to continue to wear a panty liner
for several more weeks after that. If your flow
changes to become quite heavy or foul-smelling,
you should talk to your doctor.
Infection Related to Childbirth
Six to seven per cent of vaginal deliveries are
complicated by endometritis, an infection of the
uterine lining. How do you know if you are developing an infection? The things to watch for are: a
temperature of 38.0 C (100.4 F) or higher two
days in a row; increased tenderness of your abdomen by the third day after delivery; a foul smelling discharge; lack of appetite, plus chills and
wide temperature swings. If you have these
symptoms, you must see your doctor sooner than
six weeks after delivery. Usually an antibiotic will
get you back on your feet, but ignoring these
signs can allow the infection to become much
worse.
Bowel Function
Regular bowel movements are important. The
first bowel movement after delivery can be a scary
thought, but it is important to go when your body
says to and avoid straining. Even if you don't
have a tendency towards constipation, consider
adding extra fibre and fluid to your diet to help
prevent straining. If hemorrhoids are a problem,
you might try hemorrhoid ointments and TUCKS™
pads.
Postpartum Exercises
To achieve the greatest benefit from exercise after
birth, it is best to start the day after delivery. Your
doctor can advise you on exercises designed to
help regain tone in your abdomen, pelvic floor and
leg muscles.
Many women already know about perineal exercises that are best performed often throughout
the day, such as every time the baby's diaper is
changed. These exercises consist of tightening
the muscles of the thighs and buttocks and pulling
the perineum upwards as if trying hard not to pass
urine or bowel gas. The position is held for 10 seconds.
Caesarean Birth
It is natural to have abdominal pain after surgery
such as a caesareanean birth. Before going home,
you should talk to your doctor about pain relief
medication. You can expect to be able to reduce
the amount you need as time goes on.
You may need to arrange to have the dressing
changed on the incision and the sutures or staples
removed. The area should be kept clean and
requires basic hygiene such as showering and drying on a regular basis.
After a caesarean, too, it is important to perform
postpartum exercises to help strengthen your
perineum as soon as you are able. Some exercises designed to improve your abdominal tone
may be all right as long as there is no straining of
the muscles involved. It is best to ask your doctor
which exercises you may do. Exercises such as
situps are definitely not a good idea until you have
been told your incision is well healed and you can
resume these activities. Exercising should not be
painful.
Intimacy After Childbirth
At some point after delivery you will consider sexual intimacy. Remember that you can become
pregnant while breast feeding and before your
first period. Therefore, you must use a form of
birth control. Talk to your doctor at your first visit
after delivery (usually six weeks) about the most
appropriate form of contraception for you. In the
meantime, you must protect yourself from an
unplanned pregnancy by using condoms.
You may be a little apprehensive about resuming
intercourse after delivery. Most women have a
bloody discharge called lochia for up to six weeks
after delivery which either you or your partner
may find distracts from your pleasure. You may
also be concerned about pain with intercourse,
whether or not a tear or episiotomy occurred during delivery.
Give yourself control by lying on top of your partner. This makes it easier for a woman to relax,
knowing that if it doesn't feel right, things won't
go any further. Your hormones will have reduced
the natural lubrication of your vagina so use a
lubricating jelly (not petroleum jelly which can
make condoms ineffective).
Congratulations new mother. You deserve all the
joys of motherhood. Take care of yourself and
your baby and both of you will do fine.
While effort is made to reflect accepted medical knowledge and practice, articles in Family Health OnLine should not be relied upon for the
treatment or management of any specific medical problem or concern
and Family Health accepts no liability for reliance on the articles. For
proper diagnosis and care, you should always consult your family physician promptly.
 Copyright 2002 - Family Health Magazine, a special publication of the
Edmonton Journal, 10006-101 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 2S6
Family Health is written with the assistance of:
The College of
Family Physician
of Canada
Le College des
medecins de famille
du Canada