As a new parent, you’re going to see and experience all kinds of things that you never have before, which can be both exciting and a little scary all at once. Chances are you’ll notice every last little thing about your new bundle of joy and some of these things may freak you out, for lack of a better term. While being alert and aware of potential issues is a good thing as a new parent, knowing what not to worry about can help make this special time a little easier.
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Your body goes through a lot during pregnancy and childbirth, so it’s only natural that you’ll feel some discomfort after giving birth. Feeling sore and fatigued is perfectly normal, but other discomfort may be a sign of postpartum complications.
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By Eirian Hallinan
A larger family and fewer full nights of sleep aren’t the only changes you can expect once you’ve given birth. A woman’s body goes through big changes before the baby is born as well as after. The following are some of the things that you can expect from your body after pregnancy.
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You may have heard about the controversy regarding what the best time is, to clamp and cut the umbilical cord once an infant is born. And you may have also heard about delivering the placenta the natural way, by letting it detach and drop down all on its own, without anyone pulling on the cord.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Water Birth?
Far too many mothers know firsthand the frequent pitfalls of giving birth in a regular hospital, on a bed. The pain can be excruciating, often prompting women to use hospital-administered drugs. The baby can take many hours to come. An episiotomy may be performed. The obstetrician may rupture the amniotic sac with a stick in an attempt to speed up a slow labor; but tearing the amniotic membrane can lead to other complications.
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If you gave birth recently and you’re struggling to lose the weight you gained during pregnancy, you’re like most women, says a new study published online in December, 2014 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The study followed almost 800 women who had given birth, from five geographic locations in the United States, and measured the moms’ height and weight at 6 months and 12 months post-partum.
Read More“Baby Blues.” “Depressed.” “Sad.” These are all ways to describe postpartum depression, which can kick in about five days after a newborn’s delivery, and usually goes away after two weeks. For some mothers (and dads!), postpartum depression is much more serious and treatment is needed. A new mother with postpartum depression will often feel sad, guilty, worthless and take no interest in her new baby. These moms feel shamed for feeling this way, and are too embarrassed to seek help. As a result, postpartum depression can be overlooked.
A 2006 study done by Brown University shows that it is vital for mothers who have the baby blues get professional help. Why? The study says there can be a link between a mother’s depression and a colicky baby. The study, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and is run by the state of Rhode Island, consists of a survey titled “Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.” The idea behind it is to help prevent infant mortality and ask about health and environmental factors in the baby’s household that may impact his, as well as the mother’s, health. The survey had already asked about depression, but in 2006 a new question was asked, “How inconsolable is your baby?” From these answers, it was determined that those mothers who were depressed also commented that their baby was very inconsolable, or, colicky.
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