A Woman"s Guide to Post-Pregnancy Sex and Menstruation
Updated December 18, 2014.
Q: What is the most important thing that women should know about what happens to their bodies post pregnancy?
A: Each woman will react differently to the effects of pregnancy and childbirth. Like mountain climbing or scuba diving, it's hard to know how your body will cope until you experience it. Much depends on how tired you were at the end of your pregnancy, whether you are lacking in iron or other nutrients, and what sort of childbirth you went through (C-section?
episiotomy or tear? long labor?) Pregnancy and childbirth have a nasty tendency to cause a number of nagging minor health problems (back pain, hemorrhoids, constipation, varicose veins, to name a few) or to reveal dormant ones. Close to half of new mothers have at least one health concern in the weeks following childbirth. The most important thing to remember is that the postpartum period is a time of transition during which we must take care of ourselves.
The one inevitable challenge which confronts all new mothers is coping with fatigue. It takes only seven to eight hours of missed sleep in a week to begin showing signs of sleep deprivation. and fatigue is one of the principal causes of depression. My three tips to overcoming fatigue are:
Q: What can women do before pregnancy to help ensure an easy post pregnancy experience?
A: Plan, plan, plan. I'm always amazed at how many women think that once the baby is born, they will just march into the sunset. Unfortunately, most childbirth preparation classes do not warn future mothers enough about the upheaval that they are about to undergo.
Q: How long does it really take for a woman's body to return to its prepregnancy condition?
A: The first six weeks are a time of healing, re-balancing and recovery. It takes the genital organs from six weeks to two months to return to their original size and function. The pregnancy hormone relaxin, which increases the size and elasticity of connective tissues (ligaments, muscles), will remain in a new mothers body for up to five months. This is why a new mother's joints are so fragile (50 percent of them experience back pain) and why any high impact activity puts tremendous stress on the pelvic floor and the abdominal organs. Prolactin, the hormone which produces milk in breastfeeding mothers, has a similar effect. In 66 percent of women, the vertical abdominal muscles have separated and take at least six weeks to heal. For these reasons, it is important to limit exercise to the gentle pelvic floor and abdominal exercises which I explain in my book, walking, and swimming (once you have fully stopped bleeding) for two months (ten weeks after a C-section). Eight weeks after childbirth, you can begin toning in 15 minute sessions, building up by five minutes a week. You can start tennis, biking and low impact aerobics again at 4-5 months after childbirth.
Regarding weight, again much depends on your size before you became pregnant. about one third of new mothers, who were "skinny" before pregnancy and gained only 25-30 pounds, will be back to their normal weight about three months after childbirth. Older moms, 3rd or 4th time mothers, or borderline overweight women will loose most of their excess weight between the 3rd and 6th months after childbirth. Overweight women (10-15 percent of the population) will loose most of their excess weight six to nine months after childbirth. They also benefit the most from breastfeeding for a long time (more than five months).
Some women find that nagging minor health problems such as hemorrhoids, varicose veins bleeding gums and skin pigmentation last for months - medical advice is important in these cases because usually something CaN be done. Sex may be uncomfortable for quite some time, especially if you have had many stitches (check with your health practitioner to make sure that you don't have an undesolved stitch). Lots of lubrication and patience are essential.
Finally, some women find that aspects of their body change permanently after childbirth - the way fat is redistributed, their foot size, their breast size or their hair quality.
Q: What is the most important thing that women should know about what happens to their bodies post pregnancy?
A: Each woman will react differently to the effects of pregnancy and childbirth. Like mountain climbing or scuba diving, it's hard to know how your body will cope until you experience it. Much depends on how tired you were at the end of your pregnancy, whether you are lacking in iron or other nutrients, and what sort of childbirth you went through (C-section?
episiotomy or tear? long labor?) Pregnancy and childbirth have a nasty tendency to cause a number of nagging minor health problems (back pain, hemorrhoids, constipation, varicose veins, to name a few) or to reveal dormant ones. Close to half of new mothers have at least one health concern in the weeks following childbirth. The most important thing to remember is that the postpartum period is a time of transition during which we must take care of ourselves.
The one inevitable challenge which confronts all new mothers is coping with fatigue. It takes only seven to eight hours of missed sleep in a week to begin showing signs of sleep deprivation. and fatigue is one of the principal causes of depression. My three tips to overcoming fatigue are:
- Planning ahead before the baby's birth -- Who will help with household chores? Who will take care of the older children? Who will you be able to leave the baby with to get out of the house for a short break? ask your friends for baby-sitting or housekeeping help as a baby gift. Or maybe for someone to shop, cook a meal and wash the dishes for you.
- Sleep whenever you can (ideally, you should have two naps a day in the first few weeks). If the baby is napping, drop everything and sleep as well. Nothing is more important than your rest.
- Recreation: get out of the house, do some sort of "adult" activity each day, even for 45 minutes. You'll be amazed at how this can lift your spirits.
Q: What can women do before pregnancy to help ensure an easy post pregnancy experience?
A: Plan, plan, plan. I'm always amazed at how many women think that once the baby is born, they will just march into the sunset. Unfortunately, most childbirth preparation classes do not warn future mothers enough about the upheaval that they are about to undergo.
Q: How long does it really take for a woman's body to return to its prepregnancy condition?
A: The first six weeks are a time of healing, re-balancing and recovery. It takes the genital organs from six weeks to two months to return to their original size and function. The pregnancy hormone relaxin, which increases the size and elasticity of connective tissues (ligaments, muscles), will remain in a new mothers body for up to five months. This is why a new mother's joints are so fragile (50 percent of them experience back pain) and why any high impact activity puts tremendous stress on the pelvic floor and the abdominal organs. Prolactin, the hormone which produces milk in breastfeeding mothers, has a similar effect. In 66 percent of women, the vertical abdominal muscles have separated and take at least six weeks to heal. For these reasons, it is important to limit exercise to the gentle pelvic floor and abdominal exercises which I explain in my book, walking, and swimming (once you have fully stopped bleeding) for two months (ten weeks after a C-section). Eight weeks after childbirth, you can begin toning in 15 minute sessions, building up by five minutes a week. You can start tennis, biking and low impact aerobics again at 4-5 months after childbirth.
Regarding weight, again much depends on your size before you became pregnant. about one third of new mothers, who were "skinny" before pregnancy and gained only 25-30 pounds, will be back to their normal weight about three months after childbirth. Older moms, 3rd or 4th time mothers, or borderline overweight women will loose most of their excess weight between the 3rd and 6th months after childbirth. Overweight women (10-15 percent of the population) will loose most of their excess weight six to nine months after childbirth. They also benefit the most from breastfeeding for a long time (more than five months).
Some women find that nagging minor health problems such as hemorrhoids, varicose veins bleeding gums and skin pigmentation last for months - medical advice is important in these cases because usually something CaN be done. Sex may be uncomfortable for quite some time, especially if you have had many stitches (check with your health practitioner to make sure that you don't have an undesolved stitch). Lots of lubrication and patience are essential.
Finally, some women find that aspects of their body change permanently after childbirth - the way fat is redistributed, their foot size, their breast size or their hair quality.
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