Top 12 Tips For Vaginal Birth Recovery You Should Know

Top 12 Tips For Vaginal Birth Recovery You Should Know

1. Vaginal Birth Recovery – Handle Your Emotions

After giving birth, women often feel emotional. Sometimes these emotions aren’t even positive. The changes of hormone in the body often affect your emotions. Besides, the responsibilities of a newborn baby also make you feel down, anxious or depressed. If these symptoms last for a long time, talk with your doctor immediately. Your doctor will help you to find the best treatment.

2. Use Ice Packs

Ice packs are highly beneficial to decrease the pain and swelling around the opening of the vagina. Particularly, the coldness from it can help to numb the nerves, thus soothing the pain and swelling. For this remedy, take a sanitary pad and put water on it. Freeze it and use it as an ice pack. Leave it to thaw for a few minutes and wrap the pad in one thin fabric prior to using it. To avoid any dripping, wear an adult diaper. It is suggested to repeat the process twice or thrice a day.  Alternatively, take several ice cubes and wrap them in a towel. Then, place it against your itching area for five to ten minutes. Follow this process a couple of times a day.


3. Vaginal Birth Recovery – Wear Extra Maxi Pads
vaginal birth recovery - wear extra maxi pads

Postpartum bleeding is known as lochia and can persist for two to six weeks after birth. During this time, using tampons isn’t recommended because they can leave bacteria to enter your healing uterus. Instead, it is recommended to use extra maxi pads. During this time, extra coverage and protection can help a lot. You can wear mesh undies to prevent occasional overflow. They’re easily disposable and are readily available in the hospital too.

4. Get Enough Sleep And Proper Rest

After childbirth, new mothers often don’t give much importance to sleep and rest. You can boost the healing process after childbirth by giving your body proper care and rest. Plus, sleep is important to your overall emotional and physical well-being. Poor rest will cause flare-ups of depression and anxiety. You can get extra support if needed and sleep as your baby sleeps. Also, you can ask your partner to help change diaper nightly so that can have a good sleep quality.

5. Vaginal Birth Recovery – Use a Sitz Bath

The cramping you feel when your uterus shrinks returns its regular size – is unbearable. However, chances are high with vaginal birth that there can be extensive episiotomies or tears, taking longer to heal. In addition, these tears are also painful. Thus, it is important to keep the stitches clean. It’s recommended to use a sitz bath to decrease the tenderness and soreness and keep your stitches clean. This type of bath also aids in keeping your genital area clean and decreasing the soreness. Fill a sitz bath with warm water and try to sit in it thrice daily and after bowel movements. You can also pour some warm water over your genital area to ease the pain after urinating. Alternatively, take some witch hazel and soak a maxi pad in it. Then, wear it to help soothe the pain.

6. Care For Any Stitches

After a vaginal birth, not all females need stitches yet some may need them. It is important to keep stitches clean to prevent infection if you have them. You fill a squirt bottle with warm water and after using the washroom, use it to clean your bottom. Keep your urine diluted by drinking enough water.

7. Vaginal Birth Recovery – Check Infection Signs

The healing process can be delayed by any kind of infection. After a vaginal birth, your uterus, your bladder, and your stitches are the most common areas to develop an infection. An increased pain and a thick greenish or yellow discharge from around your stitches are the initial sign of an infection on the stitches. A rotten or foul odor in the vaginal blood is the most obvious sign of an infection in your uterus. Consult your doctor immediately if you see any of these signs.


8. Perform Kegel Exercises
vaginal birth recovery - perform kegel exercises

For quick vaginal birth recovery, it is vital for improving your pelvic muscles because this will assist in healing your perineum, which stretches and tears during vaginal delivery. After one to two weeks post-delivery, you should do Kegel exercises in order to boost your pelvic muscles. To practice this exercise, you squeeze your muscles you use to stop the urine flow. Hold for about ten seconds and release for 10 seconds afterward. It is best to repeat 10-15 times. You should do these Kegel sets twice or thrice per day. When exercising, you need to listen to your body and stay away from overdoing it.

9. Vaginal Birth Recovery – Check Your Thyroid

Changes in weight, fatigue, and low energy are common problems among most new mothers. But they can be also a sign of a thyroid problem. After giving birth, some women develop the problem of thyroid in the year. Not surprisingly, these issues are often undetected. Luckily, the thyroid usually comes back to normal on its own. You should ask a doctor to check the thyroid if you have lingering symptoms.

10. Handle Hemorrhoids

After childbirth, some women undergo hemorrhoids, which have symptoms such as swollen veins around and in the rectum and anus. Bowel movements will become very painful by the swollen surrounding tissues. During vaginal birth recovery, to prevent bowel issues, you should drink plenty of water daily and avoid carbonated beverages and coffee. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits. Plus, consume foods rich in fiber and whole grains. Alternatively, you can also take a topical hemorrhoid cream.

11. Vaginal Birth Recovery – Care For Breast Soreness

Your breasts start to produce milk for feeding after delivery. It’s best to breastfeed because it benefits the newborn baby and helps your recovery. Your breast may become sore and heavy during the first stage. It is not easy to feed your baby. To prevent leaking and engorgement, you try feeding your baby or pumping often. Use hot compresses to relieve engorgement and help milk let down. You can alleviate pain by using ice packs. Prevent milk leakage by using breast pads.

12. Walking

Walking is a good way for vaginal birth recovery. It will help you bounce back more quickly. Make sure to have shoes or slippers with non-slip bottoms and a cane or a buddy to begin at first. No matter if you have had a C-section or vaginal delivery, it will be uncomfortable. Steady and slow wins this race.

Additional Tips

Stay away from long trips for five to six weeks and don’t sit in the care for a long time.
Stretch your legs and take frequent rest breaks if you need to travel.
When sneezing or coughing, use a pillow over the tummy
Do not go swimming for several months
Limit visitor at home because it increases exposure to infections.
Wait until you’re healed prior to having sexual intercourse.

We hope these tips for vaginal birth recovery will help you a lot. Do you know any other tips for boosting vaginal birth recovery? Tell us any tip you have.