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Pregnancy is one of life’s miracles. You get to grow a brand new life from scratch and give birth to it – which your body is built to do. Once you get to the end of pregnancy, with a bump like a watermelon and a road map of stretch marks across your belly, you’ll have labor to look forward to. Labor is often described in graphic detail, down to the last stage where the placenta is born. It’s after this that the real ‘fun’ begins, though. You’ve got your beautiful bundle in your arms safely and the rest of your life to raise your baby. However, there are a few postnatal things you’re about to go through that you may not be aware of, so take a deep breath and read on.
After Pains
Your womb expands to accommodate a baby, placenta, and fluid over nine months. That’s a lot of growth that’s gone on. After that baby emerges, your womb will contract back down to its original size. You’ve probably read that’s going to happen in one of your baby books. But that shrinking is painful!
The contractions you felt when you went into labor were painful, but imagine having similar pains again, without a baby at the end? Yeah – that’s the after pains. They do get progressively worse the more children you have and are especially bad when breastfeeding, as the hormones make this process go faster. Thankfully, they don’t go on and on for hours but have painkillers handy to combat this.
Postnatal Bleeding
When your placenta breaks away, you are left with what is essentially is an open wound. You’ve not menstruated for nine full months, and this accumulation of blood needs to get out.
You can buy maternity pads for your hospital bag to deal with this. Unfortunately, the bleeding can take up to six weeks to slow down so it’s a good idea to buy A LOT of these. The discomfort you feel after labor can sometimes be exacerbated by what feels like a huge mattress in your underwear. There’s a nifty little solution, though! If you soak your pads in witch hazel and place them in the freezer, you’ll at least have an instant soother!
Hair Loss
Pregnancy hormones stop your hair from falling out. There’s a reason that thick and lustrous hair is a sign you’re pregnant in the early days. Once those hormones rush out of your body, your hair has nine months of catching up to do and the shedding can be alarming.
In some cases, it can get bad enough to need a hair growth shampoo. It can be scary to be washing your hair in the shower and have handfuls of hair come out. It should slow down and there are products you can use to keep your hair from getting too damaged.
Before you know it your hair will go back to its crowning glory.
Postnatal Depression
Postnatal depression is not talked about nearly enough and every woman who has a baby goes through a few days of the baby blues. There is a big difference between baby blues and postnatal depression, though. Make sure you understand what is normal and what needs immediate help.
Pregnancy is a miracle, but no one said it was an easy one to handle. The trick is to be as prepared as possible and have a lot of support around you.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
A Super Easy Real Potatoes Side Dish for Crazy Weeknights – On Demand!
I thought it was interesting, recently, when the Oscars refused to air a commercial for women who had just given birth because they said it was too graphic. It showed a new Mom getting up in the middle of the night to ‘change a diaper’ but of course, it was her own. The Oscars said it was a little too much. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth googling it.
I haven’t seen that yet. I definitely will Google it. Sounds like something all pregnant moms should watch!
Yeah you are right. You never hear about any of these things except for the depression.
Those hospital pads with the netting are so stylish too lol.
LOL I bet