What happens to the mother's body during the puerperium?

After successfully going through pregnancy and giving birth to a baby, it means that now the mother is in the puerperium. For those of you who are giving birth for the first time or have given birth before, the postpartum period is the time to recover your body after childbirth.

Are you really curious about what the postpartum period means? What happens during the puerperium? How long does the puerperium last? Let's look at the reviews here.

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What is the puerperium?

Postpartum is the period calculated from the time a mother gives birth to six weeks after delivery.

In other words, the length of time the puerperium lasts is usually approximately 40-42 days after the mother gives birth to the baby.

The length of the postpartum period is the same for mothers who have just given birth normally and by cesarean section.

In a long period of 6 weeks or 40-42 days after normal delivery and cesarean section, the mother's body undergoes various changes.

These changes, especially dialmi organs that play a role in pregnancy and childbirth, such as the uterus, cervix (cervix), and vagina.

During this postpartum period, all of these organs will gradually return to their original state when you were not pregnant.

The body still bleeds during the puerperium

Starting from the beginning of the puerperium, the mother's body secretes blood through the vagina which is called lochiaor lochia.

Yes, as soon as the birth process is over, lochia, which is a dark red liquid and mostly consisting of blood, will come out of the vagina.

This fluid is called lochia rubra and usually lasts for 1-3 days.

After that, the liquid will become thinner and pink is called lochia serosa that occurs for 3-10 days after birth.

Entering the 10th to 14th day after delivery, the discharge becomes slightly yellowish to brownish in color.

This fluid is namedlochia alba. Lokia in the puerperium occurs because the uterus shrinks to its original size after a normal delivery or a cesarean section.

This is what then causes bleeding to appear from the body within a certain period of time.

Overall, the amount and duration of bleeding during the puerperium can be greater and longer than during menstruation.

However, the volume or amount of blood that is lost may differ from one woman to another.

Some are not too much and are okay, but some are quite a lot.

Lokia usually does not have a strong odor and comes out most days for the first 2-3 weeks.

The sequence of color changes usually develops from a dark red, pink, then brownish liquid, according to the American Pregnancy Association.

Some women can pass a steady amount of lochia for 6 weeks after giving birth.

However, some others can experience an increase in lochia blood volume on the 7th to 14th day of the puerperium.

The difference in the postpartum period after normal and cesarean delivery

In fact, there is no specific difference between postpartum care in women who give birth normally and cesarean section.

The slight difference lies in the treatment of the SC (caesarean) wound that you will not have if you have a vaginal delivery.

For those of you who gave birth by caesarean section, special attention is needed to the wound that results after surgery.

After giving birth to a cesarean section, you will usually feel pain and even itching on the wound scar.

Keeping the wound from becoming infected is one of the maintenance measures that must be done during the puerperium.

The rest, the changes in the organs to their original shape until the discharge of lochia are more or less the same in normal delivery and cesarean section.

In addition, the vagina usually takes time to recover after a normal delivery, as explained in the Mayo Clinic.

The reason is, during childbirth, the part between the vagina is stretched to make it easier for the baby to come out.

In fact, the perineum, which is the area between the vagina and anus, can stretch and tear too.

This should be restored during the puerperium for those of you who gave birth in a normal way.

Not to forget, you are encouraged to get adequate rest during the puerperium.

Indeed, maybe you will spend a lot of time caring for, breastfeeding, and looking after your little one.

However, you can steal the rest while the baby is sleeping.

What happens to the mother's body during the puerperium?

Just like during the first time of pregnancy, there are also many changes that occur in the body during the puerperium.

Various changes that may be experienced by mothers during childbirth are as follows:

1. Breast pain and milk discharge

A few days after delivery and during the puerperium, the mother's breasts may feel tight and swollen.

Don't worry, you can still breastfeed the baby or use a breast pump to relieve breast discomfort.

Use a warm compress when breastfeeding and when not breastfeeding.

You can also compress the breast with a cold cloth.

If the pain is unbearable, you can ask your doctor for advice regarding the use of pain relievers that are safe for breastfeeding mothers during the puerperium.

2. Discomfort in the vagina

As mentioned earlier, mothers who give birth normally are prone to experiencing tearing in the perineum or between the vagina and anus.

Actually, this wound can heal, but the length of time it will heal depends on the severity of the vaginal tear.

If your vagina still feels sore and causes discomfort when sitting during the puerperium, you can use a pillow to make it more comfortable.

3. Contraction

For several days after giving birth, you may experience contractions.

No need to worry, because this condition is normal during the puerperium.

The feeling of contractions generally resembles cramps or abdominal pain during menstruation.

Contractions function to prevent excessive bleeding during the puerperium by pressing on the blood vessels in the uterus.

In addition, contractions also play a role in the process of shrinking the enlarged uterus during pregnancy.

4. Difficulty urinating

Swelling and injury to the tissue around the bladder and urethra can make it difficult for you to urinate during the puerperium.

Damage to the nerves and muscles connected to the bladder or urethra can also cause you to pass urine involuntarily.

This condition usually occurs when you laugh, cough, or sneeze. Difficulty urinating usually goes away on its own.

You can practice puerperal and Kegel exercises to help strengthen your pelvic muscles and help control your urination reflex.

5. Whitish

In addition to bleeding in the form of lochia, usually the body will also secrete a whitish discharge during the puerperium.

This condition can last for about 2-4 weeks after delivery or during the puerperium.

Leucorrhoea is the body's natural way to remove remaining blood and tissue in the uterus.

6. Hair loss and changes in skin

During pregnancy, an increase in some hormones can cause hair to fall out more easily than usual.

But sometimes, this hair loss problem can also continue until you have given birth and are in the puerperium.

Generally, this hair loss will stop within 6 months.

Apart from hair, pregnancy also affects the condition of your skin during the puerperium.

Stretch marks that appears during pregnancy will not completely disappear during the puerperium.

It's just, colorstretch marks usually will fade from red to purplish red to eventually white.

7. Emotional changes

Change mood sudden, sad, nervous, and irritable feelings you may experience after giving birth or during the puerperium.

Not a few mothers who have just given birth experience depression, both mild to severe.

8. Weight loss

Childbirth usually causes you to lose up to 5 kilograms (kg) of weight.

These include reduced baby weight, amniotic fluid, and placenta.

During the puerperium, the mother can lose a few more kilograms of fluids or other tissues that are passed out with the lochia.

However, postpartum body size may not fully return to what it was before delivery.

To maintain an ideal body weight after childbirth and during the puerperium, it is recommended that you regularly maintain a healthy diet and be diligent in exercising.

What should be considered during the puerperium?

Various things that are important to note during the puerperium are as follows:

1. Maintain a healthy body condition

In addition to paying attention to the condition and development of your little one, it is also important to maintain the health of your own body during the postpartum period.

Mothers who have just given birth are usually busy with taking care of their babies.

However, try not to forget to always take care of your own health.

Irregular baby's sleeping hours will cause the mother's sleep time to become irregular.

So, try to go to sleep when the baby is sleeping so you don't get weak from not getting enough rest.

Well, some ways that can be done to help maintain the condition of the mother's body during childbirth are as follows:

• Ask for family help to take care of the baby in the first few weeks after giving birth because at this time the mother's health has not fully recovered.
• Eating nutritious postpartum food to meet the nutritional needs of both the mother and the baby.
• Fulfill the needs of fluids because you have to breastfeed your baby during the puerperium.
• Ask your doctor for advice regarding what medications you can and shouldn't take. Always consult a doctor before taking certain drugs after childbirth and during this breastfeeding period.

If there are complications of childbirth that occur during the puerperium, see a doctor immediately.

Complications of childbirth include sudden fever, postpartum bleeding that does not stop, abdominal pain, and difficulty controlling the movement of muscles to pass urine.

Health complications may still occur during the puerperium.

Providing immediate treatment and care can help save the mother's life if something untoward happens.

2. Eat lots of protein during the puerperium

Eating fish, eggs, and various meats is believed to be able to make stitches after giving birth by caesarean section or normal so that it keeps getting wet.

The stitches, which are said to be difficult to dry, are said to make it difficult for the mother to move.

In fact, eating foods rich in protein such as fish, eggs and meat can be eaten after childbirth.

These three foods are actually a source of protein-rich foods that are good for the body.

Protein plays an important role in forming new cells in the body.

These new cells will accelerate the healing process of the mother's suture wound after childbirth or during the puerperium.

So, this is just a myth or prohibition after giving birth.

Mothers may eat protein-rich foods during the puerperium to speed up the healing process.

Especially because at this time, mothers need to take care after normal delivery and after cesarean section.

Normal postpartum care such as treatment of perineal wounds in the vagina.

Meanwhile, caesarean section treatment aims to treat caesarean section scars.

Get active

The puerperium usually lasts for about 40-42 days.

Well, during that time the mother is expected to be able to move or have normal activities gradually again.

The reason is, there may be some activities that some mothers leave behind while pregnant.

So, feel free to do your activities again, either inside or outside the house.

Starting from small things such as taking a morning walk while drying the baby, chatting with neighbors, and other things that make the body move actively and are exposed to the sun.

Is it possible for a mother to experience depression during the puerperium?

Depression is not only risky lurking mothers who are pregnant, but also mothers who have given birth and are in the puerperium.

This is commonly called baby blues which appears in the first week to the second week.

If baby blues lasts longer and is more severe, the mother may already have postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression in the puerperium is not experienced by every mother.

However, when depression in the puerperium occurs, the symptoms that appear can vary from one mother to another.

There is a difference between baby blues and postpartum depression. On condition baby blues the mother still wants to care for the baby, while in the post partum depression condition, the mother does not want to care for the baby.

This feeling of sadness after giving birth does not make it difficult for you to care for the baby.

Usually, mothers also experience additional symptoms of guilt and worthlessness in themselves, resulting in a loss of interest in activities.

Even so, postpartum depression can actually occur at any time and does not have to be immediately after giving birth to the baby.

Not only during the postpartum period, mothers still have the possibility to experience this condition even though they have given birth for one year.

Postpartum depression during this period cannot be underestimated.

Make sure you always consult any conditions you experience in the postpartum period with your doctor.