Aches & Pains

Your body is probably aching from the exertion of your labour and delivery. How you are feeling will much depend on your birth experience. If you had an assisted delivery with forceps, an episiotomy or tearing, it is highly likely that your wounds are extremely tender and sore. Some may say excruciating. Mild activity will help the swelling and bruising to heal as it encourages local circulation. The pain related to episiotomy and tearing is primarily from swelling and inflammation. The use of icepacks may help relieve the pain and reduce swelling. Arnica, available in the form of a tincture, ointment or oil (to be applied only to unbroken skin) and Bach Flower Rescue Remedy, may also aid the healing process.

Stitches

The sting of urine passing over the sutures can be minimised by showering or slowly trickling a jug of warm water over the pubic area to dilute the urine as it passes. Try soaking in a salt or lavender bath and use pads soaked in witch hazel to enhance healing. Calendula, golden seal, aloe vera, yarrow, chammomile, sage, rosemary and myrrh are antiseptic herbs that can be added to a bath.

For unbearably tender wounds, use a hair dryer rather than a towel to dry the area. You may need to hold the stitched area firmly with a clean sanitary pad when you are passing a bowel motion. Creams and ointments should not be applied until the skin has healed.

Postnatal Bleeding

After giving birth, you will experience a bloody vaginal discharge called lochia for several days, sometimes lasting as long as six weeks. This will turn a brownish colour before tapering to a yellowish-white. Lochia can be alarmingly smelly. It is advisable to use large sanitary pads. Tampons are not advised at this time as there is a risk of ascending infection. Furthermore, the insertion and removal of tampons can irritate the already sensitive vaginal tissue.
Blood loss may leave you feeling weak and dizzy. Be sure to eat plenty of iron-rich foods and carbohydrates for energy to maintain your blood sugar level. Frequent, small meals throughout the day may be better than large amounts of food.

Epidurals

Epidural nerve blocks used as a form of pain control during labour have been known to cause postnatal problems including backache, migraine and neck ache. A good massage will help circulation, promote nerve function and relax the surrounding muscle tissue. Should aches and pain continue it may be advisable to seek treatment from an osteopath or cranial sacral practitioner who will be able to check if the spine is out of alignment. If you do not have a practitioner your health professional will be able to refer you.

The following herbs are useful to speed postpartum healing:

• False unicorn root and blue cohosh encourages involution of uterus
• Nettle provides essential minerals including vitamin K and iron and stabilises blood sugar levels
• Calendula promotes healing and prevents infection
• Shepherds purse helps stop bleeding
• Lavender is calming and antiseptic
• Uva ursi helps prevent urinary tract infection
• Dong quai, ginger, liquorice and ginseng are useful to treat exhaustion 

Compared to the baby blues, postnatal depression is a more severe and long-term condition thought to affect about 10 per cent of women. Its onset may occur immediately following the birth or any time within the first eighteen months or two years. If you are not getting the sleep or the practical help and support you need the situation is exacerbated. Parenthood brings new demands as your relationship undergoes adjustment. You may even find yourself confronting unresolved difficulties stemming from your own upbringing.

Postnatal depression can be serious with typical symptoms including persistent feelings of depression, constant fatigue, anxiety, bouts of tears and apathy. It may manifest as negative feelings of inadequacy, lack of motivation, isolation, guilt, and resentment towards the newborn baby. Physical symptoms such as loss of appetite, diarrhoea or constipation are also common.

There are thought to be many causes of postnatal depression and it is thought that every person experiences a unique accumulation of varying factors. Common to most cases is the massive drop in oestrogen and progesterone levels following childbirth. Nutritional imbalances are also likely and these in turn will effect the body’s ability to regulate hormonal imbalance.

Studies link nutritional status to both maternal behaviour as well as physiological and emotional fluctuations. In one study using rats, it was found that the zinc-deficient mothers neglected their offspring. They were indifferent to their babies, did not build nests, neglected to nurse their young and in some cases abandoned their young.

As pregnancy nears its end, hormonal changes prepare a woman’s body for childbirth. Zinc packs into the placenta and copper levels rise. Zinc and copper work together to balance each other and if one is deficient, the balance is adversely affected.

Following the birth, zinc levels fall as the placenta is expelled. As zinc plays an integral role in balancing hormones, it is considered to be a major factor contributing to both postnatal baby blues and depression.

Further nutritional deficiencies may include essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 oils found in fish or flax seed oil, B complex vitamins, especially B6 and folic acid and iron. If you suffered a large amount of blood loss during childbirth, iron levels are likely to be low, causing fatigue.

Furthermore, research indicates that a zinc-deficient newborn is likely to cry more and be less settled. If you are suffering from postnatal depression your baby is likely to sense this and may become easily agitated. Thus begins a cycle that can be difficult to break. Although there is a lot you can do for yourself, you may need professional help as well. It is important that you seek help if symptoms persist.

Post Natal Baby Blues

Most women say the week following birth is more difficult than the labour and delivery. After the excitement of the pregnancy and birth, many women reach the third or fourth day and collapse in a heap of tears, stressed, deflated, tired and overwhelmed.

Called the ‘three-day baby blues’ these are thought to be due to a combination of sheer exhaustion, levelling hormones and a sudden realisation of your new responsibilities as a parent. The baby blues can occur at any time in the first ten days and is experienced by eighty per cent of new mothers. What may seem irrational or emotional outbursts of tears is common. In most cases this lull is short-lived. It is likely that your body is aching with fatigue and the rigours of labour, healing from cuts, tears or a Caesarean delivery, your breasts are engorged and throbbing, and your baby wants feeding. Meanwhile, everybody’s attention has switched to your newborn. Don’t despair, as unfair as it may seem, try to take each day as it comes. Go with your feelings, have a good cry, a talk, try to get some rest and be assured that this is normal behaviour.

It may seem daunting but every moment brings new knowledge and growing confidence. If you are worried about something don’t hesitate to ask as many questions and seek as much help as you need. There will always be someone willing to help.

Studies indicate that both parents respond best to their baby if they have had the opportunity to peacefully bond with their newborn in the first hour following the birth. More recent research suggests that if a mother is not afforded this unique opportunity to be left alone with her baby and partner, she is more likely to suffer postnatal baby blues and depression. More hospitals are recognising the benefit and relevance of parents being able to nurse their baby and skin to skin contact is encouraged to establish the first bonding.

It is also been recognised that during birth the sacrum is often displaced, affecting the limbic system that controls emotional behaviour. Osteopathy is advised to correct the alignment and help resolve depressive symptoms.