How Will My Body

Feel After Childbirth?

Consider the fact that for almost 40 weeks, your body has made major accommodations for your growing baby. Skin has stretched, organs have shifted and certain parts have grown accordingly. When your baby is born, your body will continue shifting but this time its goal is to recover.

You may feel bubbling sensations or sudden pressure within your abdomen for the first few days (or weeks), which are normal. Just be patient, it will be over before you know it.

Simultaneously, your uterus, which has grown significantly, will now begin the process of returning to its normal size. During this time, your uterus will contract on and off to both reduce in size and to secrete the remaining fluids that once helped your baby grow.

Women’s bodies recover intuitively after childbirth in so many different ways, some you will notice and some you might not.

Pregnancy hormones facilitate the stretching of the abdominal area by as much as 50%.

How Will My Body

Childbirth Recovery & Breastfeeding

During your post pregnancy recovery your body will be recovering from being pregnant and giving birth PLUS producing nourishment for your baby.

Taking place inside your abdomen is the shift of your internal organs, which have been gently moved aside by the gradual growth of your baby in the past 9 months.

Breastfeeding is known to assist your body’s intuitive contractions and help moms lose much of the excess weight gained during the pregnancy.

All pain disappears when mother and newborn meet for the first time.

What to Expect

Your Body After Childbirth

Swelling

It’s very common for women to experience swelling after childbirth. This occurs for a variety of reasons including reactions to medications, water retention or hormonal changes. Whichever the reason may be, be sure to stay hydrated rest when possible and consult with your doctor if you feel any pain or are concerned about the swelling..

Your Belly

When your baby is born, the space that he or she filled inside your womb will need some time to shrink back down; this will leave your abdomen softer and more jiggly than you are used to. It is perfectly normal and it will get better.

Your Emotions

Emotions can be a bit challenging to understand and keep under control after you have a baby. Hormones continue to take charge of everything your body is going through and it’s perfectly normal to experience emotional highs and lows. Be patient with yourself and know that you are not alone in this and that everything will get easier with each day that you continue to bond with your baby.

Postpartum Bleeding and Menstruation

Say hello to your long lost feeling of menstruation. For the first week (sometimes weeks) after giving birth, you will experience postpartum bleeding which is normal. Your body will naturally cleanse your uterus of its baby making experience. This will of course be accompanied by the usual cramping. Try to have lots of heavy flow pads ready to go so you don’t run out. Also talk to your doctor about options to help with any pain and if you experience a flow that seems heavier than normal.

How Will My Body

Feel After a C-Section

Compared to natural childbirth recovery, the recovery process after a C-section takes longer especially in the first hours following the surgery. Women will feel intense pressure and pain, as they are encouraged to stand up and move about within hours of surgery.

A C-section is major abdominal surgery to extract your baby safely out of your womb. Your Doctor has to make an incision through major muscles in your abdomen, then makes and incision on your uterine wall and finally reaches the fetus.

At the completion of this delivery method, women will have to recover and regain strength in their abdomen, which will take significantly longer than a vaginal delivery.

Some of the challenges a woman will face after a C-section delivery are:

Abdominal Pain
Leg Pain
Back Pain
Difficulty sitting, standing or getting out of bed.
Overall physical discomfort.

What to Expect

Your Body After Childbirth

Photos taken shortly after giving birth. Click on any image to view more.

DISCOVER MORE

A Positive

RECOVERY AFTER CHILDBIRTH

Allow Yourself

Time to Heal

It is normal for women to want to jump right back into their routines after their baby is born, after all you are finally not pregnant and that is more than a great reason.Despite these feelings of urgency to do everything right away, women must be sure to allow themselves time to heal, time to get to know and bond with their new baby and time to ease back into a new routine. Doing so will ensure a more positive transition to life with a new baby.

When the pregnancy and birthing process is complete having a positive recovery is important. A woman who is recovering well can enjoy taking care of her newborn baby with more ease, comfort and peace of mind. To achieve this there are some measures that women can take.

Follow Your

Doctor's Orders

Your Doctor has been taking care of you since you were first pregnant, they know your history and will have a multitude of orders and advice that will be suited for your specific needs. Be sure to communicate closely with them to ensure that you are always doing what is best for your recovery journey.

Find Appropriate Abdominal Support for Healing

There are tools that women can implement into their recovery routine which can be used to reduce pain and increase comfort. Recovery garments such as Bellefit Postpartum Girdles and Corsets are excellent tools that aid in a comfortable recovery while allowing a woman to move about, hold her baby and still breastfeed comfortably, all without experiencing pain.

Postpartum Girdle

Medical-Grade Compression

Postpartum Abdominal Compression is applied with a garment that a woman wears tightly around the torso following the birth of a baby. To maximize their benefits, postpartum girdles should fit quite snugly around the midsection. It is this tightness that helps improve posture and aid in recovery after baby is born. Bellefit is the maker of the best postpartum girdle for recovery after natural birth or c-section.

Postpartum binders apply steady pressure around a woman’s abdomen and lumbar region meant to reduce swelling, expel fluids, improve posture, provide support for both the abdomen and back and allow women to have more mobility after giving birth.

In addition, wearing a girdle post pregnancy has the added bonus of helping women fit into their pre-pregnancy clothes comfortably and sooner than they would if they went through a C-section or natural childbirth recovery without it.