Recovery

placeholding invisible text

Average rating:

Recovery from birth varies between women. Some mums get straight back into their regular jeans and life continues pretty much as it did before. But this isn't the case for the vast majority. Having a baby is a huge life-changing event and it's unrealistic to expect your life to carry on exactly as 'normal'.

Some women feel a need to 'debrief' following the birth of their baby and this is completely acceptable. Talk to your community midwife or write to the head of midwifery at your maternity unit and ask for an opportunity to go through the notes, if you feel it could be beneficial.
For the first few days and weeks

Nap in the day when your baby sleeps, so the nights don't seem as bad.
Poor bladder control is common after giving birth. It might be a while before you can get on a trampoline! Start doing those pelvic floor exercises before the birth, and continue to do so afterwards, it should improve.
If you had a tear but no stitches, take it easy for a few days and allow the area to heal.
If you've had stitches, soak in the bath with four drops of pure lavender oil every day to help soothe them.
Have plenty of super-absorbent sanitary towels and breast pads to hand. Initially, you'll feel like you're leaking from every orifice. But give it time, it will all begin to settle down!
There's no restriction on how long you should wait before having sex, if you feel ready, then that's fine. However, the reality is that many women are too exhausted to even contemplate doing anything other than sleep when they go to bed!
If you're finding it difficult to cope, talk to your midwife. She'll visit you at home, and you should also have a contact number if you need to speak to her.

More help and advice

- What happens when you're induced?
- Embarrassing pregnancy questions answered
- Caesarean births explained
- Pain relief options during labour

By Anne Richley

Rate this!

Average rating:

All pages in this article

Please leave a comment, tip or story in the box below

jess, about 1 year

My friend looked at this website about giving birth and now she feels so much more confident about giving birth to her first child in august, thanx for all the information.

Report this comment