Recovering After the Birth of Your Baby
Having a baby, whether you have a vaginal birth or a caesarian, is tough on your body. You’ve already carried a baby for a number of months, and then you have to go through a difficult, painful and tiring experience.
When it’s all over, you have a tiny new life to look after, so it can feel like you’re not going to get time for yourself. But recovering from the birth is important, so you need to ensure you’re able to heal. Before worrying about “losing the baby weight” or anything else, you need to give yourself time to get back on your feet.
Sleep and Rest as Much as Possible
The idea of sleeping a lot when you have a newborn probably seems pretty laughable. And it’s true that, unless you get very lucky, you probably won’t get a lot of sleep within the first few months of having your baby. But that doesn’t mean you can’t sleep at all, and prioritising rest and sleep over other things is important.
Sure, the living room probably could benefit from a quick tidy. However, you could also benefit from a quick doze. You’ve got time to worry about getting into a routine so don’t be in too much of a hurry to do everything.
Pay Attention to Your Body
Pregnancy and birth can do all kinds of things to your body. Many of the things you experience after the birth will be quite normal, but it’s a good idea to be in tune with what’s happening. Pay attention to changes so you can work out if anything might be amiss.
Don’t just think about how you feel physically, but how you feel mentally too. Hormonal changes can often cause big mood swings, but there are also some things you should be a bit more concerned about. Postpartum depression, anxiety and even psychosis are potential issues.
Allow Time for Your Body to Heal
You should make sure you give your body time to heal. Your midwife, health visitor or doctor will tell you when you can exercise again. You should be able to go for a gentle walk pretty soon, so you can start to get out and about.
However, there’s no rush to start being really active. Your body needs time to heal, and you need time to bond with your baby. Try not to push yourself too hard if you want to heal in a timely fashion.
See Your Doctor If You Feel Anything Is Wrong
If you feel like there’s anything wrong, you should see your doctor or speak to your health visitor. Any concerns you have about how your birth went or how you feel afterwards could also be a case for medical negligence solicitors.
They can help you if you feel like an injury occurred during the birth that could have been avoided. They can also help if you think a birth injury has affected your child.
Give yourself plenty of time to recover after you have your baby. If you allow yourself time to heal, it will happen quicker and better.
