Post Pregnancy Changes and What You Can Do About It

They say a woman’s life changes forever after pregnancy. Her transformation from a woman to a mother, however, is not the only major change that takes place through. A woman’s body also bears the signs of the transformations as she notices major changes taking place on her body.

From gaining weight during pregnancy to bigger and swollen breasts, women undergo a plethora of, changes from the time she becomes pregnant and even after childbirth.

Read on as we list down some of the most common,

Body Changes That Your Body Goes Through After Pregnancy –

Hair Loss

Hair fall is every woman’s biggest nightmare. Yet, it is one one change that is unavoidable after childbirth. In case your hair had become thicker during pregnancy, there is a good chance of you shedding more than a handful after childbirth.

However, worry not as it won’t last for long. During pregnancy, most women witness a spike in estrogen levels. The hormonal change helps in hair growth and considerably reduces hair fall. Estrogen levels, however, decrease after childbirth and you start shedding more hair than natural. Hair fall is natural during this phase and you should not be too alarmed of it. Over time the shedding will reduce and the growth rate of your hair growth will be back to normal.

Discoloration of Skin

While your body is certainly affected by pregnancy, your skin is not spared either. Hormonal changes, changing lifestyles and stress and fatigue has a detrimental effect on your skin. Many women have battled with breakouts after giving birth. While others who did so during pregnancy will feel some good results now. Chloasma, which results in dark patches on skin particularly on your forehead, cheeks, nose or lips, or the region of your belly button to your pubic bone having a dark line, is commonly observed during pregnancy. You will notice these patches getting lighter after giving birth, day by day. Most of the skin conditions that women suffer after childbirth are gone after a few weeks.

Swollen and Engorged Breasts

Now that you are a new momma, you will most likely breastfeed your tiny one. As your body gets ready to feed your child, your breasts undergo some major changes during this period. You will feel your breasts becoming swollen and hard once your breasts start producing milk. You might also feel a throbbing sensation in your breasts, with them feeling unusually full. This phenomenon is called engorgement. Though common in the first few days after giving birth, it should get better eventually. Breastfeeding is the best way of preventing engorgement. However, if nothing works, it is best to seek a doctor’s advice.

Weight Loss

Losing weight after childbirth is a slow and steady process. It takes time and a lot of patience to come down to pre-pregnancy weight. However, there does occur some after pregnancy changes in your body, which makes it difficult to regain your former figure back.

You will notice a considerable loss of weight after childbirth, with your body eliminating all the extra fluid it had retained during pregnancy. In order to do get rid of all that extra fluid, your body will produce more urine than usual. Your sweat glands will also be working in overdrive during this period to get rid of all that extra fluid.

Uterine Changes

Right after giving birth, contractions will cause your uterus to shrink. However, you will still be able to feel your uterus in your belly area in the first initial days after childbirth. In a week, the weight will come down to half of what it was during childbirth. It will decrease further in the next two weeks and will now be located in your pelvis. After four weeks it should be down to its pre-pregnancy weight.

Stretch Marks

We have all dealt with stretch marks at some point in time in our lives. Be that due to a sudden growth spurt, weight loss or weight gain. While the reasons are innumerable, stretch marks are unavoidable. Pregnancy, more often than not, causes severe stretch marks on a woman’s belly. Unfortunately, unlike other changes, stretch marks are impossible to get rid of. They usually are bright red in color during and also after pregnancy. With time, blending in of the marks occurs and they fade into a light silver color. Drinking enough water and moisturizing your skin can help you to stay away from the worst of it.

Back Ache

Pregnancy is known to make your body weaker, which is why most women need proper care and rest right after childbirth. Back ache is very common among women during this period. This is mostly because your body is gaining weight on your back as your abdominal muscles are still not strong enough to support you.

This causes women to suffer from severe back aches. Usually, these issues subside after pregnancy, within the first six weeks. If you are still suffering from back ache, seek your doctor’s advice at the earliest.

Problems in Urinating

New mothers often face problems in urinating right after childbirth. Childbirth may cause swelling and loss of sensitivity of your bladder. Unlike during pregnancy, when you were urinating at frequent intervals, you might not feel like urinating at all after childbirth. However, it is essential for you to urinate even if you don’t feel like it. Even if you don’t feel the urge, your bladder gets filled up rapidly with all the fluid that your kidneys are producing. Going without urinating for too long will not only cause leakage but will also make your bladder distended. In case you are having problems in urinating or producing only a small amount of urine, let your doctor know about it at the earliest.

Change in Vaginal Shape and Vaginal Discharge

The shape of a woman’s vagina changes considerably during pregnancy. In most cases, your vagina will feel pulled, strained and swollen right after giving birth. The swelling will, however, be gone in a few days and your vagina will once again regain muscle tone. You might have vaginal discharge after pregnancy. This White discharge comprises of whatever is left of the uterine lining from your pregnancy and mostly blood. The discharge can continue for a few weeks after childbirth.

Sex After Childbirth

Having a child does not mean you put a ban on sex. While most women feel too tired to indulge in any kind of sexual activity after childbirth, there is no stopping you if you want to spend some quality time with your partner. You can have intercourse usually after 3–4 weeks after childbirth.

There is no need to hurry though. Take your time to get comfortable with it. If you are a breastfeeding mother, you might experience some vaginal dryness. This does make the idea of intercourse a bit uncomfortable, however, there are enough options out there to help with the pain and discomfort. If you’re not breastfeeding then you can expect your period to return after seven to nine weeks of delivery. In case you are breastfeeding then your periods may not return for several months. This can also last until you stop breastfeeding altogether.

Swelling in Legs

We have all heard of women suffering from swollen legs during pregnancy. The puffiness, however, reduces pretty quickly after childbirth. A fraction of the women might also experience some irritation in their legs after pregnancy. Walking helps to keep this at bay and provides much-needed relief. Varicose veins are the thin spidery veins that often appear on the surface of your skin. While weight loss post pregnancy reduces the appearance of varicose veins, they don’t really go away.

Excessive Sweating

As mentioned above, after pregnancy your body goes into an overdrive to eliminate all the excess fluid that it had retained earlier. Sweating is just another way for your body to remove the excess fluid.

Undoubtedly motherhood is a magical moment. While it does present its own trial and tribulations, the very presence of your tiny tot blows away all your worries. Physical changes are just a part of this extraordinary moment and should not be worried about too much. Take one step at a time and enjoy your time as a new mother.

What kind of changes did you witness in yourself after childbirth? Do let us know along with your feedback in the comment section.

Originally published at www.babygogo.in on September 8, 2017.