Healthy ‘musts’ for new mums
After careful preparation for pregnancy,
October pregnancy and delivery
The happy mothers who have been blessed with a baby
After the postnatal period of rest and recuperation
Have your bodies recovered?
Today, we will have a chat with you about
The topic of 42 days postpartum review
First, why do you need to check around 42 days postpartum?
Postnatal checkups are usually conducted 42 days after delivery, and can be delayed for 1~2 weeks if there are special circumstances. At the same time, a woman’s body undergoes many changes after pregnancy, especially the uterus, which carries the baby, will increase in size as the foetus grows bigger. During labour, there may be damage to the lining of the uterus and changes to the pelvic structure. After delivery, it usually takes about 42 days for the other organs of the body, except the breasts, to return to the pre-pregnancy level.
Second, is postpartum review necessary?
The answer is: yes!
What are the items in the 42-day postpartum checkup?
The 42-day postpartum checkup is crucial for every new mother. The checkups during this period are designed to ensure that the mother’s body is recovering well and to prevent potential health problems. Below is a detailed description of the review items
1. Weight monitoring: By measuring weight, the doctor can assess how well the mother has regained her weight after delivery, and thus determine whether there is excessive or insufficient weight gain, which is important for maintaining good breast milk quality and physical recovery.
2. Blood pressure measurement: For mothers with a history of high blood pressure during pregnancy, monitoring blood pressure after delivery is particularly important. Over-exertion or lack of sleep can lead to abnormal blood pressure, so regular monitoring helps to detect problems in time.
3. Routine blood, urine and leukorrhea tests: Blood tests can assess the overall recovery of the mother’s body after delivery, such as anaemia or infections; urine tests can detect urinary tract infections; and routine leukorrhea tests can help detect vaginal infections and other problems.
4. Assessment of incision healing: Whether it is a lateral vulvar incision during a normal delivery or an abdominal incision during a caesarean section, the doctor will carefully examine the healing process to ensure that there are no infections or other complications.
5. Pelvic organ examination: Through ultrasound and other means, the doctor can assess the recovery of the uterus and check for problems such as abnormal bleeding or post-partum inflammation.
6. Pelvic floor function and rectus abdominis muscle separation assessment: The examination of pelvic floor function can help to detect potential prolapse problems, such as prolapse of the vaginal wall and uterine prolapse, etc., while the assessment of rectus abdominis muscle separation can determine the recovery of the abdominal muscles after delivery, and provide guidance on the necessary rehabilitation.
7. Breast examination: Breast health is directly related to milk production and baby feeding. The doctor will check for inflammation and swelling of the breasts and provide appropriate treatment recommendations.
8. Bone density test: The postnatal bone density test helps to assess the mother’s bone health and prevent osteoporosis.
9. Contraceptive guidance: Doctors will provide contraceptive guidance to help new mothers understand how to avoid getting pregnant again when their bodies have not yet fully recovered and reduce unnecessary risks.
10. Mood assessment and guidance: Postnatal mood swings are common, but persistent low mood or depression may require professional intervention. The doctor will assess the new mother’s mood and provide necessary support and guidance.
11. Special check-ups: For mothers with pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism, the doctor will arrange for special check-ups accordingly, such as glucose tolerance test and thyroid function test, etc., to ensure that the mother’s health condition is fully assessed.
Please note that the above review items are not set in stone and doctors will make adjustments and additions according to the specific conditions of each new mother. Therefore, mums are advised to attend the hospital for review on time on the 42nd day after delivery to ensure the health of themselves and their babies.
Fourth, what symptoms suggest that the postpartum did not recover well?
1. Can’t hold your urine
If you find that you can’t hold your urine when walking, exercising, sneezing or coughing after giving birth, it is likely that there is something wrong with your pelvic floor function!
Pregnancy and childbirth can cause neuromuscular damage to the pelvic floor, affecting the ability to control urine. Both normal delivery and caesarean section will inevitably affect pelvic floor function, and normal delivery will aggravate this effect.
Therefore, we must pay attention to pelvic floor rehabilitation after delivery, and conduct pelvic floor function screening to prevent the occurrence of pelvic floor diseases.
2. Small tummy can’t be put back
After giving birth, some people’s tummies are so loose that they can’t go back.
If you think it’s because you ate too much during pregnancy and breastfeeding! Then it is a big mistake, the real reason may be because the rectus abdominis muscle separation.
When a mother is pregnant in October, her stomach is bigger than a watermelon, and at this time, the muscles and fascia of the abdomen are stretched tremendously!
If the fascia connecting the rectus abdominis muscles on both sides – the white line of the abdomen is not restored, it will cause the abdominal muscles to collapse and pile up in the abdomen.
After delivery, pay attention to the abdominal exercise, rectus abdominis muscle separation is serious, you can go to the hospital to seek the help of manipulation massage, electrical stimulation.
3. Low back pain
If you feel lumbosacral pain after delivery, it may be due to anterior pelvic tilt caused by pregnancy, or lumbar muscle strain caused by frequent bending during the monthly period.
During pregnancy, under the effect of hormones, the mother’s joint ligaments will be more loose, and pregnant body, lumbar and sacral region under pressure is already relatively large. After delivery, loose ligaments and long-term overloaded joint muscles need time to recover.
If the monthly period of improper posture, often bend over to hold the child, do housework, it is easy to fall into the back pain problem.