In fact, new mothers only need to pay attention to the recovery of these four private parts in postpartum recovery. It will not take long for new mothers to be a hot mother with a strong figure!
Part 1: Breast
Breastfeeding makes the breasts recover faster and better. To prevent the breasts from becoming soft and no longer standing due to childbirth, the key is to take good care of yourself. Some people think that breastfeeding makes their breasts sagging, but the opposite is true. Practice has proved that breastfeeding can better promote the recovery of the breast. The breastfeeding position must be correct.
- Don’t let the baby get too close to the chest. When he is in the correct position and starts to suck, he will find that his temples and ears vibrate slightly. If the baby is positioned correctly, the nipple will not feel sore.
- Under your chest, place one hand flat on your ribs to support your chest. Avoid pressing on the top of the breast, as this is likely to change the direction of the nipple and block the breast.
- Every time you breastfeed, you have to switch to a different breast for feeding. Feeding your baby on different breasts at different times helps to avoid putting too much pressure on one breast.
- Before breastfeeding, sprinkle some warm water on the chest to help the secretion of milk. This way the baby doesn’t have to struggle to suck from hard and sore nipples.
- If the breast becomes hard, you can express the milk by hand to facilitate the baby to suck.
- After breastfeeding, wipe the breast with a cold towel, which can shrink blood vessels and reduce the degree of breast swelling.
- Gently squeeze swollen nipples, this is a simple and easy-to-use method.
- Wearing a suitable bra can make the chest feel comfortable.
Second part: pelvic muscles
The structure of the pelvis
The pelvis is a pelvis made of bones, including two large hip bones: the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis. Below the vertebrae and sacrum, there are 4 small bones that make up the coccyx. The main function of the pelvis is to support the structure of the body while protecting the uterus and bladder. Making up the pelvic floor is a layer of muscles called the pelvic muscles. The pelvic muscles are divided into three layers, namely the inner layer, the middle layer and the outer layer, which are connected from the pubic bone to the coccyx and pass through the hip bones on both sides. There are 3 outlets in the pelvic muscles. One is the urethral outlet extending from the bladder, located in the front; the other is the anal opening extending from the large intestine, located in the rear; the third is the vaginal opening extending from the uterus, located in the center. A ring, called a sphincter, forms at the exits of the muscles of the outer pelvis, and the sphincter makes these exits fit tightly, especially when the abdomen is exerting force, and when laughing, coughing, or sneezing.
Early exercise, more exercise
During pregnancy, the pelvis supports the weight of the fetus, placenta, and some extra fluid in the enlarged uterus. After childbirth, these muscles are extremely dilated and fragile, so to get them back to a strong state, exercise them as much as possible. Some women worry that tightening these muscles will cause pain after a laceration or episiotomy. In fact, this worry is completely unnecessary, when these muscles are tightened and relaxed, blood circulation is increased and the healing process is promoted. When exercising, these wounds don’t do any harm, so it’s best to start exercising as soon as possible.
The third part: the uterus
Abnormal lochia should be paid attention to
When the 10-month-old fetus is delivered from the mother’s body, the baby starts its own life, but the little house in the mother’s body, the uterus, will not return to its original state all at once. Now, its sacred mission has been completed, and it needs more care and care at this time, so that it can return to health as soon as possible. After delivery, as the placenta is released, the size and weight of the uterus will gradually return to its original state. However, this process takes about 6 weeks. When the uterus recovers, unwanted stuff inside the uterus is expelled. These discharges are called lochia and last about 3-4 weeks. Initially, the red blood comes from the placenta, and after a few days it turns brown, and after a few weeks, it turns yellow. The change in color is unpredictable because blood loss changes during this period. The most common is a small blood clot. Ordinary lochia does not have a foul odor. If you notice a large clot, persistent or extreme loss, or a foul odor, you must tell your midwife or doctor about it. This means that the inside of the uterus is infected and should be treated. In order for the uterus to recover well, mothers should pay attention to the following aspects:
- Postpartum should be urinated in time, so as not to make the bladder over-distended or often in a distended state.
- Long-term recumbency should be avoided in the puerperium period. After 6 to 8 hours postpartum, the puerperae can sit up after the fatigue is relieved, and can get out of bed for activities the next day, which is conducive to the recovery of the body’s physiological functions and physical strength, and helps the uterus recover and lochia discharge. When in bed rest, try to take the left or right position, avoid lying on the back, to prevent the uterus from being tilted backward; if the uterus has been tilted backward, you should do the knee-chest position to correct.
- Breastfeeding should be done after childbirth. Breastfeeding is not only very beneficial to the growth and development of the baby, but also the baby’s sucking stimulation will reflexively cause uterine contractions, thereby promoting uterine recovery.
- Pay attention to the hygiene of the genitals, and pay attention to the hygiene of the genitals after giving birth, so as not to cause inflammation of the reproductive tract and further affect the recovery of the uterus.
Fourth part: vagina and pelvic floor
Due to pregnancy, it is inevitable that certain changes have taken place in the vulva, vagina and pelvic floor tissues. The following will explain the changes and recovery one by one.
- Changes and recovery of the vulva. After childbirth, it can cause mild edema of the vulva, which disappears on its own within 2 to 3 weeks. If you pay attention to local cleaning and care, mild perineal lacerations or perineal incisions can generally heal within 4 to 5 days. If the perineum is severely lacerated or the wound is infected, the incision will increase the pain of the mother, and it will take 2 weeks or even a month to heal.
- Changes and recovery of the vagina, during childbirth, because the fetus passes through the vagina, the vaginal wall is stretched, there will be swelling and many small wounds, tingling when urinating 1-2 days after childbirth, and recovery after 1 week. Under normal circumstances, the enlarged vagina can be tightened 1 day after delivery. After childbirth, the vagina enlarges, the muscles of the vaginal wall relax, and the tone decreases. Vaginal folds disappear due to overstretching during labor. During the puerperium, vaginal muscle tone gradually recovered, but not fully to pre-pregnancy levels. Mucosal folds begin to reappear around 3 weeks postpartum.
- Changes and recovery of pelvic floor tissue, postpartum pelvic floor muscles and their fascia lose their elasticity due to expansion, and often some muscle fibers are broken. If you can keep exercising after giving birth, the pelvic floor muscles can be restored to close to their pre-pregnancy state, otherwise they will not be able to return to their original state.