Congratulations mommy on your newborn! This is a joyous time, but it’s also a period of adjustment and healing for mothers. Your newborn might be your top priority, but postpartum care counts, too. Whether it’s a vaginal delivery or through the window, caesarean section, care for both wounds are equally important.
Episiotomy wound care
If you had a vaginal childbirth, you may have had an episiotomy done for you. Some women tear naturally during delivery. Caring for this wound will ensure it heals well with the least discomfort, especially when your lil’ munchkin needs more of you. To reduce the pain and ensure good healing of your wound, the following can be done:
Good hygiene and wound care:
1. Always remember to keep the area clean! Do rinse gently after passing urine with tap water. You should be given an antiseptic liquid, called chlorhexidine. Gently dab and clean using the liquid at least three times a day for the first 1-2 weeks. Try a sitz- bath, a small basin of warm water with a handful of salt thrown in, this helps with cleaning and healing the wound as well. Never clean your vagina after cleaning the anal area! Move from front to back to prevent germs from the anus coming in contact with your wound!
2. Ensure to keep the area dry as much as possible. Keeping the area dry reduces the pain and promotes healing. You may also try using a hair dryer to dry the wound area, DO NOT BURN YOURSELF!
3. Change your sanitary pads as soon as possible. The last thing you want during this time is your getting infected! While donut might remind you of your favourite snack, try to get your hands on “donut” that you can sit on so that there is no direct pressure on the wound.
4. Pain control – If the pain is too bothersome, over-the-counter pain control medications will help. Do note that if you are breastfeeding, always ask your baby’s healthcare provider before taking any medications. If you can, get yourself some numbing gel/spray, it may be useful. Applying an ice pack can also help to ease pain.
5. Avoid constipation – Keep things moving by drinking plenty of water and get a healthy diet that is full of fruits and vegetables. A fiber supplement may help. Some hospitals discharge the moms with lactulose syrup, if you don’t have one you can always buy it over the counter in a pharmacy. Avoid the use of suppositories or enemas. Postpartum hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the rectum usually caused by straining, the ugly side of chronic constipation. You can also apply an ice pack for this and take some pain medications.
When the babies are too adventurous and want to sneak out through the window, the wound would be around the abdomen area. Each person’s recovery will be different, depending on the medical and obstetrical circumstances and general health of the patient. Always bare in mind, any abdominal surgery is considered major surgery as the area has multiple important organs, YOU NEED TO TAKE THINGS SLOWLY!
Things can be done for a c-sec wounds are:
1. Early ambulation – Get out of bed early! Start walking around and get your blood pumping. This will speed up recovery and prevent the development of blood clots in the veins. If you are in pain, do get some pain medication to help ease it. The incision wound will feel less painful as the days go by.
2. Suture – The most commonly used types are the dissolvable ones, which means you don’t have to get it removed. At times, you may be asked to return after a week to remove the non dissolvable stitches or metallic staples. Keep an eye on the suture to ensure its not infected or oozing blood/pus. Keep the area dry.
3. Dressing – When you are being discharged from the hospital, the dressing over the wound may be changed to a waterproof type. Try and maintain the area dry as much as possible after bathe. The dressing can be removed after a week. The use of an abdominal binder helps to support the abdominal wall muscles when walking and this may help in reducing pain.
Long term Postpartum complications
Did you know, it takes up to six weeks for all your pregnancy-related changes in your body to revert back to its pre-pregnancy state.
Some of the main complications are the relaxation of local muscles. The main complaints are lack of urine control with leakage every time the patients are pressing on the lower abdominal walls (gym, cough, sneeze, sexual intercourse). Also, the laxity of the tissues in the same area will alert these patients especially when they have lack of sexual satisfaction and alteration of sexual life quality. This could happen after any pregnancy, depending on the nature of the pregnancy and the delivery itself.
Luckily there are options available to get a quick fix, Vaginal rejuvenation using radio frequency. A non-surgical, quick, pain-free and safe solution. Can you believe that a simple, pain-free procedure can make a huge difference in women’s lives? These issues are much more common than you would ever imagine and now they’re really easy to solve.
Our recommendations are 3 to 4 months post delivery and you can get this done. It does not interfere with breastfeeding nor interferes with your menstrual cycle! The success rate is extremely high that patients benefit from just a few treatments!
