Postnatal Problems Faced Due To Normal Delivery

Wednesday, June 29, 2016, 15:40

Your body has endured nine months of pregnancy; and now that pregnancy is over after finally bringing a living and breathing wonder to the world, your body faces certain significant changes in the weeks and months, following the arrival of the baby.

Physical recovery would take some time post the pregnancy period. During the postpartum period, your body is taking time to heal from the birthing of your child and is trying to rebuild strength.

Also Read: 9 Things That Happen After Pregnancy That You Did Not Know

It is also trying to regain on its pregnancy shape. You would have read a lot of pregnancy books or would've tried to scour the internet so as to read everything possible regarding the postnatal period, especially after the delivery of the baby.

You would be basking in the new mom bliss and celebrating the arrival of your new one with the family, yet with the new-found happiness there comes along with minor problems that most new moms face.

Unlike baby blues, postnatal problems are faced due to normal delivery and it shouldn't be ignored.

Women experience a wide range of postnatal complications in which some can be more severe than others.

Also Read: Post Delivery Surprises Every Mother Should Expect

It's always better to expect and be prepared, so that you will be able to cope with physical and emotional changes that your body will undergo post the pregnant period.

Your newborn may be your first priority yet postnatal care counts too. So, what can you expect post pregnancy? Here are some of the postnatal normal delivery problems that women go through, have a look.

1. Vaginal Bleeding

After normal delivery, women will bleed, as their uterus tries to contract back to the original size. Usually, the bleeding would not be heavier than the normal period, yet when the piece of placenta is left inside, then there is a chance that it can lead to heavy bleeding.

Moreover post pregnancy, if a woman does a lot of activity, then there is a possibility of bleeding heavily.

2. Postpartum Haemorrhage

Postpartum haemorrhage happens especially when the uterus fails to properly contract after the placenta has been delivered.

It can also happen when there is tearing in the uterus, cervix or vagina. After delivery the new mother is monitored to make sure that the uterus is contracting as it is supposed to be.

If there is any problem, then usually the midwife or doctor would massage your uterus by helping it to contract or they would give a synthetic hormone oxytocin, in order to kindle contraction.

The haemorrhage can occur in the first week or two after delivery. It is caused if a part of the placenta has remained in the uterus; in such a case, the tissue can be removed surgically.

3. Uterine Infections

Placenta separates from the uterine wall during the delivery and it gets expelled from the vagina after giving birth (especially 20 minutes after the delivery).

Yet if the pieces of the placenta are found in the uterus, then there is a chance of it leading to an infection. These postnatal problems are faced by most pregnant women due to normal delivery.

4. Rapid Heart Rate & Fever:

If there is an infection in the amniotic sac during labour, then it would lead to postpartum infection in the uterus. There will be certain flu-like symptoms such as high fever, rapid heart rate, abnormally high white blood cell count and foul-smelling discharge, which is especially urinary infection.

If the tissue surrounding the uterus is completely infected, then fever and pain would persist.

5. Hair Loss

Most women have fuller and shinier locks during pregnancy and after the delivery, the hair may be lost rapidly. Women would tend to lose hair more than normal.

During pregnancy, there would be high oestrogen levels which do keep the hair from falling out.

On the other hand, after pregnancy the oestrogen dips down and returns to normal rate. Hair loss would peak around 3 to 4 months post pregnancy. Yet it would return to normal within 7-12 months. This is one of the postnatal problems faced due to normal delivery.

6. Perineal Pain

For pregnant women after vaginal birth, there would be pain in the perineum, especially between the rectum and vagina.

Due to the tissues getting stretched or torn during delivery, it can cause them to feel bruised or torn or swollen. Moreover, this ache can get aggravated due to episiotomy, which is an incision made in the perineum especially during the delivery, so as to keep the vagina from tearing.

7. Belly Bulge

After giving birth to the new bundle of joy, women hope that they can lose their belly immediately. Most women expect that their belly will return to the normal size. However, it can never happen straight away, since it would take about 6 to 8 weeks before the uterus is back to the pre-pregnancy size.

8. Breast Engorgement

The breast milk can increase to a larger volume between second to the fifth day after birth. There can be sensations happening in your breasts as well, as you would hear the baby swallowing while nursing.

Moreover, the breast would get full with milk and can become rock hard, which is known as engorgement.

So, in order to avoid engorgement, new mothers must feed their babies at short intervals. This is one of the normal delivery problems that women face. Using ice packs can soothe engorged breasts.

9. Sore Nipples

There would be soreness in the nipples within a few days after delivery. However, on the positive side, women would learn how to properly latch the baby to their nipples, so that the baby gets used to it.

Therefore, these are some of postnatal problems that women face during normal delivery.