Control postpartum uterine pain

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist Doctor II Huynh Thi Hien - Obstetrician and Gynecologist - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital.
Uterine contractions help push excess tissue and blood out of the uterus, inadvertently causing postpartum pain. Postpartum labor pains are likened to “second birth pains”, but you can manage the pain with gentle activity and dietary changes.

1. Pain in the womb after giving birth

Postpartum uterine pain is pain caused by uterine contractions. During pregnancy, the mother's uterus expands with each stage of fetal development. After giving birth, your uterus begins to contract to return to its original size. This contraction will unintentionally cause pain in the abdomen. Uterine contractions help push out excess tissue and blood, called fluid, in the uterus and genital tract after a mother's labor. Usually, postpartum labor pains will last about 2-3 days or sometimes longer depending on the location of each person. The pain will become most intense in the first 2 days after birth and will subside on the 3rd day. The stronger the pain, the faster the mother's uterus will contract and quickly disappear. It can be understood that the first 2 days after giving birth is the time when the uterus has the fastest and strongest contraction. If you are a first time mother, your uterus has better elasticity, so it will be less painful than those who have given birth before. Details of fetal development week by week, every parent should learn:

2. Causes of postpartum pain in the womb

Part of the reason is that when the baby is born, the uterus must continue to contract to push the fluid out and at the same time return to its original state. Another part is because the mother was almost exhausted when giving birth, so her body is weak and her stamina is very low, so the pain will be more when the uterus contracts. And the pain is worse when the mother breastfeeds because at this time the uterus contracts more, so the pain is more intense.

3. Treatment and management of labor pains

Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is one of the ways to overcome postpartum pain. When breastfeeding, the mother's body releases the hormone oxytocin, which causes the uterus to contract faster and reduces the risk of blood loss. For mothers who have postpartum pain in the womb, the doctor will advise the mother to breastfeed as much as possible because at this time the uterus is contracted more and the mother will feel the most intense pain. Abdominal massage: - One of the ways to relieve postpartum pain quickly is to ask your loved one to massage your belly. This way, the pain of the uterus will be reduced immediately, and it also helps to push the discharge out faster.
- The massage is quite simple, the mother feels on the abdomen to check where there is a slightly hard mass that is a sign that the uterus is contracting. And just use your hands to rub around the hard abdomen clockwise until it feels soft and gradually disappears.
However, the pain will pass quickly instead of dull pain from day to day. Meanwhile, the baby can still eat full breast milk and the amount of breast milk is also maintained stable from the beginning.
Gently change lying position For women who give birth naturally, mothers can lie on their stomach gently and place a pillow under their abdomen to relieve pain immediately. For mothers giving birth by cesarean section, this method is very difficult to apply. Not only that, when lying down, the mother should sleep on her side with a pillow on the side of the abdomen or back to feel most comfortable and not prevent the activity of the womb. Light exercise when lying down: Mother should exercise the pelvic floor and abdominal wall muscles so that the muscles do not contract and the fluid is pushed out faster. This also helps the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments to be more elastic, avoiding postpartum pelvic organ prolapse. Urinate at the right time: After giving birth, the mother should drink a lot of water and urinate often to improve the condition of the womb. This is a way to help eliminate the amount of secretions from the mother's body more quickly. Mothers should avoid holding urine when their stomach hurts, which can lead to postpartum hemorrhage or cystitis. Meditating: After giving birth, meditation also helps the uterus to contract faster and reduce abdominal pain. However, mothers should note, just sit for a short time and then lie down to rest, to avoid back pain, shoulder pain later.

4. What to eat to quickly reduce the pain of the womb?

Roasted turmeric chicken: A fresh branch of turmeric sliced ​​and roasted with chicken eaten every day will help mothers significantly improve postpartum pain. According to folklore, the most effective is to use fried chicken with turmeric. However, if you don't have a rooster, it's also good to use regular chicken with turmeric. Mothers should also note that, due to the skin of some mothers, after giving birth, the incision is difficult to heal, eating chicken can cause pain in both the perineal and lower abdominal stitches.
Beef tendon stewed with green papaya: The dish made from beef tendon helps the mother relieve pain in the womb very well. Should choose the large, yellow beef tendon, it will be better for the mother after giving birth, should not use the tendon from the meat, then stew it with green papaya. This dish not only helps to quickly eliminate secretions, quickly shrinks the uterus, but green papaya also helps mothers have more milk to breastfeed.
Grilled chicken gizzard: A folk experience passed down to help mothers relieve postpartum pain is to eat grilled chicken gizzard. Take the gizzards of two young chickens, wash them clean and leave the yellow part in the gizzards, then marinate and cook them thoroughly to eat right after birth. However, mothers should also be careful when eating, because the chicken gizzards are quite hard, cooked thoroughly will be harder, so it is easy for mothers to have toothache when biting.
Drink ginger tea: Ginger tea helps to warm the abdomen and relieve pain in the womb immediately. Mothers who work hard to drink more warm tea also help the milk glands return quickly to breastfeed.
Drink warm orange juice: Eat a lot of oranges or drink a lot of orange juice. Oranges are rich in potassium and can ease the sensation of pain. However, mothers should pay attention, oranges are acidic, so it is necessary to drink warm orange juice and use a straw to avoid orange juice from making teeth. You should also try a little bit and monitor your child's stool to avoid letting you drink orange juice to make your child poop. Oranges are rich in potassium and can alleviate pain

5. What to note for mothers with postpartum pain

Do not self-administer pain relievers: When having pain in the womb after childbirth, mothers should not arbitrarily use pain relievers indiscriminately without a doctor's prescription. This can affect both the mother's health and the quality of breast milk. Therefore, pregnant women need to strictly follow the instructions of the doctor.
Do not arbitrarily apply heat: Women are also not allowed to arbitrarily apply heat immediately after giving birth. The reason is because the uterus will contract to stop bleeding, if the mother applies heat too soon, it will cause the uterus to not contract and cause a very dangerous postpartum hemorrhage.
Gentle exercise: Pregnant women should not lie in one place for too long. Instead, the mother should spend time moving and doing gentle exercises to quickly expel the fluid and the uterus to contract faster. For women who give birth by cesarean section, mothers can quickly practice walking gently to avoid intestinal adhesions or urinary retention.
Postpartum uterine pain is one of the haunting links of mothers, especially mothers who give birth, the uterus will shrink more, causing persistent pain. After 2-4 days after giving birth, but these pains still do not subside and the body shows unusual symptoms such as fever, severe pain, bleeding that does not stop, the pregnant woman needs to go to a medical facility immediately because Most likely it is a sign of some dangerous postpartum complications such as missed placenta. If not detected early and treated promptly, it can be life-threatening.
You should go to reputable medical facilities for ultrasound examination, effective treatment methods. Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the leading medical facilities in the field of diagnostic imaging, especially ultrasound. The team of technicians and doctors are well-trained and specialized in diagnostic imaging, obstetrics and gynecology. Regularly participates in medical conferences with leading experts in the world, helping patients have access to new and more effective treatment methods.
Modern ultrasound equipment, imported completely new, high quality, brings clear images, multi-function, supports the best diagnosis and treatment process. If you have a need for examination and ultrasound at Vinmec, please book an appointment directly at the website or contact the hotline for service

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