After Pregnancy

After pregnancy days are not easy. These are the days which are much more difficult than the days of pregnancy. After pregnancy the postpartum care is very necessary whether the delivery is vaginal or caesarean. It takes at least two or three months after delivery for the mother’s body to normalize. This is time to take care as the mother is prone to infection and deficiency if she is not conscious of her health. She has additional and very demanding responsibility of rearing the newborn baby. Mothers should take nutritious diet to aid the body in healing process after delivery. Enough amounts of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fibres should be present in diet of the mother so green leafy vegetables, lentils, milk; fruits must be included in daily meals.

Pregnancy adds to the weight of the mother so she should resort to some exercise regimen under expert’s guidance to lose the excess weight after pregnancy.
Menstruation may remain absent in some of the lactating mothers after pregnancy for long, but some sort of contraceptive method must be used to avoid pregnancy. This should be discussed with physician.

After pregnancy and delivery, the body of the mother is too exhausted so family members and friends need to be very helpful at this time. Now, employers are providing paternity leave which strengthens the fact that involvement of father after pregnancy is very important. Husband should help her in daily chores and in taking care of the baby. The mother should visit the physician regularly and frequently to rule out any infection, haemorrhage, etc.

One of the most common problems to deal with after pregnancy is ‘baby blues’. ‘Baby blues’ is experienced by approximately 50% to 75% of moms after delivery. ‘Baby blues’ symptoms include mood swings, crying, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, and depression. ‘Baby blues’ generally surfaces after 4-5 days of delivery. The exact reason for ‘baby blues’ is not clear although certain hormonal change after delivery is cited as one of the probable reason. ‘Baby blues’ generally go away on its own within ten days of delivery. If the ‘baby blues’ prolongs, medical intervention should be sought without delay for the same. One should try to minimize ‘baby blues’ by positive thinking and indulging in one’s favorite things.

After pregnancy, it is not only mother who should be taken care of, the baby too should be necessarily taken care of. Certain test should be done on baby to rule out certain genetic or congenital defects or disorder.

When the umbilical cord is cut after delivery to separate the baby and mother, some part of it remains attached to the baby which sheds only after 2-8 weeks of time. During these days, care needs to be taken so as it should not get infected. If any discharge or swelling is noticed in and around that area, it should be dealt with prompt medical care.

Pregnancy Kit