Pregnancy can be the most wonderful experience for a woman. It is not just going to change her life, but that of the father and other family members. You are inviting a new life in this world after dealing with the pain and discomfort for nine long months. So, it’s very important to remember that during pregnancy, a woman will go through some serious physical and sometimes emotional changes. Some women may experience an enjoyable, issue free pregnancy, but still suffer from post-pregnancy issues. The time just after the birth of your baby can already be stressful enough. Let’s take the time to learn more about the post-pregnancy issues a majority of women will face so you’ll know what to expect.
Post-Pregnancy Issues
Physical recovery is going to take some time post-delivery. It can be even more painful and take a lot longer to recover if you had to go through C-section. When it comes to vaginal delivery, you won’t have to take pain medication, but you will still need to maintain the best self care you can so that you have plenty of energy to take care of your newborn baby. Let’s learn a bit more about the post-pregnancy issues now:
- Breast Engorgement: Whether you have decided to breastfeed or bottle feed your baby, you will still have to deal with the initial engorgement, sometimes also known as ‘your milk coming in’. With or without breastfeeding, your breasts will become full and incredibly sore within the first week of giving birth. Most women deal with this by using safe pain relievers, or hot and cold compress methods but always consult with your physician on important physical health matters.
- Hair loss: Pregnancy can do a real number on the hair. During pregnancy women will often have luxurious, glowing, wonderfully healthy looking hair that grows fast, but post-pregnancy, just as many women find themselves shedding more hair than usual. This shouldn’t be cause for alarm unless a bare spot begins to form. It would be important to get to a doctor for that since it could be from a vitamin deficiency, especially common in women who are breastfeeding. This hair shedding commonly last around six months.
- Vaginal bleeding: You will bleed vaginally post-pregnancy, even if you deliver by C-section. For most women, you can expect to bleed for a period of 2 to 4 weeks, but it isn’t rare to bleed vaginally up to six weeks post-pregnancy. What is important to watch out for is the rate of flow. By the end of the two week period, the flow should be seriously diminished from what it was just post-birth. If you’re still bleeding heavily at that time, contact your medical professional.
- Discoloration of skin: Many women have skin discoloration during and after pregnancy. This discoloration can come from everything from stretch marks and strained skin to actual melanin changes in the skin during the hormonal period of pregnancy. One of the issues relating to melanin and fluctuating hormones is known as the linea nigral. That is where a line from below the navel all the way to the pelvis can grow fine, dark hairs as well as the melanin itself darkening under those fine hairs. The unusual nature of linea nigra is that for some women, it will disappear post pregnancy. The fine hairs will drop off and you’ll never know it was there. For others, it may be there for life. Women with darker shades of hair are more likely to experience this type of skin discoloration from pregnancy.
There are solutions available for all these problems, and a trained gynecologist will be able to help you with that. So, if you are suffering from any of these issues, you know who to call for help.
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