6 weeks postpartum: How does the mother's body recover?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by MSc, Dr. Trinh Thi Thanh Huyen - Obstetrician and Gynecologist - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.
At 6 weeks postpartum, the mother can already feel her body begin to recover. However, during this time, the mother may have different physiological and psychological changes because she has not been able to adapt to taking care of the baby, so she is easily stressed and depressed after giving birth. At this time, you should let your body recover naturally and apply postpartum recovery measures with gentle activities such as exercise, sex.

1. Bleeding after giving birth

Postpartum bleeding at this point will be very light and will go away during this period. If it recurs or bleeds heavily, you should contact your health care provider to find out the cause and appropriate treatment. Also, you need to make sure that keeping yourself rested and not overexerting will keep bleeding to a minimum and help wounds heal faster.

2. General body recovery

At this point, your vaginal area should no longer be painful, although you may feel that the whole thing is not healed enough to have sex. Your cesarean scar may be slightly tender or even numb, but your pain will subside and to a lesser extent. It is normal in some cases to experience a prolonged lack of sensation along the cesarean scar because the incisions that cut through the nerves take time to heal (and may never fully reconnect). You may still look a bit pregnant, but your uterus is slowly shrinking back to its normal size.

3. Mood swings and postpartum depression

Many mothers experience the “Baby blues” during the first two weeks after giving birth, and these feelings can linger for weeks afterward. Usually, mothers often have emotions such as: feeling sad, wanting to cry over the smallest things and sometimes going from feeling excited one minute to sad the next. This could be because hormone levels are going through a huge adjustment, as well as your body and lifestyle (like becoming a mother). So it's normal to feel overwhelmed or stressed or even miss your old life.
Sometimes, the emotional slump from all these changes can become more difficult and turn into postpartum depression.
If you're still feeling sad after two weeks, especially if you feel extreme or out of control, talk to your counselor about postpartum depression.

4. Some things that mothers after 6 weeks of giving birth can do

4.1. Resume sexual activity When you visit your doctor at 6 weeks postpartum, you may be advised to resume sexual activity. But you feel like everything is not ready yet, so your partner will need to let you decide when you feel really ready for this activity. And remember: "Sex" doesn't have to be actual intercourse. This is also a way to restore the baby after giving birth.
4.2. Start using birth control again You are fertile even while you're breastfeeding, so you need to make sure you're still using birth control during this process so you don't get pregnant. unplanned pregnancy. You can talk to your healthcare professional about birth control options and choose the safest method of birth control while breastfeeding. Since your breastfeeding routine is now well established, it is safest to start taking these drops at the sixth week postpartum. This is a form of birth control that contains only progesterone. The mini pill effectively prevents pregnancy without reducing your milk supply.
4.3. Do Kegel Exercises We know for sure there are many other priorities on your to-do list when you become a new mom, but then you just don't have the time as you do now to start working your muscles. that pelvis. But doctors recommend waiting until the 6 week mark to make sure that the perineal tears and vaginal healing have completely healed.
4.4. Exercise Whether you have a vaginal delivery or a cesarean section, it's a good idea to stop exercising for six weeks to give your body time to complete most of the recovery from vaginal and cesarean deliveries. While it may not seem right at this point, you'll be back to your pre-baby and pre-pregnancy era with daily exercises. And that probably won't take as long as you think. So you don't have to be in a hurry to do this. .

5. Some suggestions on how to do postpartum recovery

While this is technically when the postpartum period is over, many women still don't feel the same way they did before childbirth and pregnancy, so be gentle with yourself. If you're ready to continue exercising, start slowly. The same is true for sexual activity: Just because you're clean doesn't mean you feel ready. Listen to your body above all. You may be exhausted at this point in time with overwork. Practice as often as possible. Postpartum health care and recovery is a continuous and comprehensive process for both mother and baby. Restoring the body and psychophysiology will make the mother feel comfortable, limiting possible health and psychophysiological complications. After giving birth, the mother should see an obstetrician and gynecologist for advice on how to restore health as well as appropriate exercise measures and advice on contraception, birth spacing, review. Information on caring for and feeding children, talking about sleeping habits, etc. This will help mothers relieve pressure as well as have the best health care knowledge for themselves and their children.
At Vinmec International General Hospital with a system of modern equipment and machinery, spacious and clean rooms, a team of experienced doctors and nurses will participate in the diagnosis and offer the most optimal method depending on to each postpartum woman. Thanks to that, it gives women absolute peace of mind, comfort, no worries for mother and baby.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.

References: healthline.com, whattoexpect.com, verywellfamily.com, parents.com