Things No One Tells You About Postpartum

What’s something that no one talks about? How about your postpartum physical recovery from birth. As a postpartum doula for over a decade, this is a topic that is so important because it will impact every single person that gives birth to a baby. And that’s a lot of people! So, let’s talk about your postpartum physical recovery from birth and share all those things that no one tells you about.

Ever Heard the Word Lochia Before?

Well, you’re about to get real familiar with it. Lochia is the postpartum bleeding or discharge that happens after giving birth. And if you didn’t know this - it happens to everyone no matter whether you have a vaginal or cesarean birth. That’s right. There is a wound about the size of small plate from where the placenta detached from the uterine wall and that wound has to heal. The uterus also has quite a bit of menstrual lining to shed too. So this means postpartum bleeding. It will start very heavy with quite a few blood clots and then the volume will decrease over time. Normally most people have stopped bleeding anywhere between 2-4 weeks postpartum, but it could continue up to 6 weeks.

There are some red flags to look out for - soaking through a clean pad within one hour while laying down, passing blood clots larger than a golf ball, foul odor, or running a fever. If you experience any of those things, call your provider right away.

Why Am I Still Having Contractions?!

Yep, we call these afterpains because they’re a real pain in the butt after delivering a baby. (Actually, I made that part up - I don’t know exactly why they are called afterpains but that sounded good.) It is totally normal to still feel uterine contractions up to several days after giving birth. Your uterus did a lot of work during pregnancy and it’s job isn’t over yet. Now it needs to shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size (and work to stop the heavy flow of bleeding), so these contractions will continue. And spoiler alert - they tend to be stronger and stronger with every subsequent postpartum recovery period. Fun.

Many people experience them strongest while breastfeeding - that’s because that flow of oxytocin you experience during a nursing session will also contribute to contractions elsewhere, notably your uterus. If the afterpains are really uncomfortable, continue with your over-the-counter pain medications prescribed to you during hospital discharge and also try a heating pad or heated blanket over the uterus.

No One Told Me I Would Be So Sweaty!

This is a fun one that no one warns you about - you wake up in the middle of the night because it’s time to feed the baby and you are SOAKED. Your body is drenched, your pajamas are soaked through, and your sheets are wet. What is happening?! This is called diaphoresis and it’s a fancy way of saying sweating. There’s a few things going on with your postpartum body. One, there’s a lot of fluid retention during pregnancy and, depending on how you gave birth, there could have been even more fluids introduced during labor. Now it’s time for your body to expel those extra fluids. And two, your body is going through a huge hormonal fluctuation right now and that will also contribute to the sweating, especially to night sweats.

So while this isn’t fun, it is normal and will pass pretty quickly - within 1-2 weeks after birth. In the meantime, keep a stack of clean pajamas and fresh, fluffy towels by your bedside for some quick clean up in the middle of the night.

Is My Hair Falling Out???

Short answer - yeah, a little bit. We know, so rude. During pregnancy, you probably had the most full, lustrous head of hair of your life. Thank those pregnancy hormones. But now that you’re postpartum and those pregnancy hormones have been replaced by postpartum hormones, it’s a different story. It’s time for your body to shed all that build up and starting somewhere around 3-4 months postpartum, the shedding becomes quite noticeable. Don’t worry - you are not going bald. But there will be an uptick in shower hair monster balls for sure. Normally your hair is back to normal by 6 months postpartum. And then all the little wispy strands of new growth start poking through. We’ve all rocked the postpartum mom hairdos so you’re in good company.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of what you will experience during your postpartum physical recovery, these things do tend to be the most surprising for people. Mostly because these are the things that no one tells you about postpartum. So let’s start talking about these things more. Let’s normalize what happens to postpartum bodies. We want new parents to enter the postpartum period prepared, not shocked.