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Mothercare
A practical guide to keeping moms comfortable in the early weeks
If you don’t feel your best after having a baby, it’s no wonder. Your body is recovering from a birth that was, at the very least, physically taxing. It is turning off the pregnancy changes that have held sway for nine months. And it is turning on your mothering systems — from lactation to that jangly alarm that goes off in your head when your baby cries. Some of these changes are not pretty, but they are pretty impressive.
Vaginal healing
For the first six weeks or so after birth, your uterus sloughs its lining, causing a vaginal discharge called lochia. At first it is like a heavy period, gradually decreasing to a light discharge.
Plain maxi-pads are best, says midwife Kathi Wilson, of Thames Valley Midwives in London, Ont. She advises against products with deodorant or special outer layers, which can irritate or even impede healing. Tampons — which can trigger toxic shock syndrome — are a no-no.
Wilson also tells new moms to play “queen” for the first few days — let others wait on you! “In the first week or so, the bleeding should start to settle down,” she says, but doing too much too soon can delay healing. If your lochia flow suddenly increases, take that as a cue you need to rest a bit more.
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What do you think?
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