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There are so many stories that go around about what life will be like after childbirth.
How you instantly fall in love with your baby or that the hardest part will be sleep deprivation.
If the truth be told, what no one talks about is your body after childbirth.
Let’s just be real here for a minute or two. The postpartum period is not going to be easy. Your body has just gone through a major upheaval and things are happening to it right now that you probably don’t even want to discuss.
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING…
It’s embarrassing, it’s painful, it’s messy BUT every woman who has gone through childbirth has gone through it.
So let’s just put our big girl pants on and talk about the ugly side of postpartum that no wants to discuss.
When you get pregnant there are so many changes that your body has to go through.
It stretches, changes shape and organs move just to accommodate your baby.
That’s no small feat!
Likewise, when you give birth your body will not be the same again straight away. There are a number of things that are about to happen to you.
If this is you and you are pregnant and about to give birth then you really need to keep on reading!
Don’t worry when you get to the end you can get my free postpartum checklist so that you can stay on top of these bodily changes.
Having had 4 children myself I’m here to share with you the truth about your body after childbirth.
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If you are in the postpartum period right now just know that there is still hope for you. If you feel helpless, tired and in pain, it’s not too late to do something about it. I’m here for you.
Like I’ve mentioned before I’ve had 4 children all birthed vaginally and I’m still alive and kicking so that proves there is still hope for you too.
Let’s dive straight in and talk about some of the things that are about to happen or are happening to your body right now and what we can do to help the situation.
Want to remember this postpartum post? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board!
The blood gets everywhere. You will need to make sure you get some really good postpartum pads like these, otherwise, you will bleed through your knickers and your trousers and onto your sofa where everyone can see it.
I kid you not. I wouldn’t like to say it happened to me but it did.
Lochia is foul smelling, I don’t know why but it reminds me of raw expired chicken.
Lochia is essentially a mixture of blood and tissue which is being expelled from the body after birth.
Your body will firstly get rid of the heavy blood flow including clots.
As the days go past the blood should become lighter in color.
The smell will probably still remain until the discharge has all cleared up.
It’s gross and there’s nothing you can do about it.
If you have just given birth and haven’t already purchased some of thesedisposable postpartum knickersyou really need to get yourself some right now!
They are the best thing ever and the fact that you can just throw them away means that you don’t need to worry about having to continuously do the laundry.
These were an absolute lifesaver for me because I couldn’t manage the laundry very well after having just given birth.
I couldn’t even bend without feeling some type of pain so when I discovered I could just throw these disposable knickers away after I had used them it was just one less thing that I had to deal with.
To be fair no one wants to get blood all over their favorite knickers either! Imagine the scrubbing you would have to do?!!
Once you get one of these bad boys you won’t have to tense your whole body up every time you need to sit down anymore.
You can thank me for that little tip later on!
If you are feeling unprepared for your postpartum journey why not get yourself a copy of the postpartum handbook? The booklet is super handy for new moms who want to be prepared for the changes that are about to happen to both their mind and body. You can take a look at the handbook here, you won’t regret it!
4. SORE NIPPLES
The changes that happen to your body after childbirth can be quite overwhelming but never was I prepared for sore nipples.
When your breasts begin to fill up with milk they can become engorged which is quite uncomfortable.
If you have decided to breastfeed you have to be prepared for the initial pain that comes with it.
I don’t know about you but every time I have seen an image of a mother feeding her newborn baby she is always looking down smiling at her baby.
When I was feeding my newborn I was holding a clenched fist trying not to scream and frighten my baby because of the initial pain.
I was scared each time a feed was due, but I knew that I had to just work through the pain and that it would eventually get easier…and it did.
Within a few days, the pain was gone and I was able to look at my baby with the loving eyes just like the pictures I had seen.
If you are suffering from the initial pain of sore nipples I highly suggest this to help you out with breastfeeding.
This cream will work wondersfor you too. You might even be tempted to kick your husband out of bed just so you can sleep next to your cream ( ok so maybe I’m exaggerating a little – it’s good to laugh sometimes)
If the pain you are getting from breastfeeding is completely unmanageable it could be that your baby is latching on incorrectly.
In that case, I would highly recommend this breastfeeding courseas it will help you with the correct positioning for your baby as well as lots of other breastfeeding related things.
You’ll be surprised a few small changes can make all the difference between you quitting breastfeeding and being successful at it.
Another issue that some new moms have is inverted nipples. If you have this problem as I did then this product is exactly what you need.
5. BACK PAIN AFTER CHILDBIRTH
Back pain is another thing that can happen after birth especially if you were carrying a very heavy baby during pregnancy.
You may have weakened abdominal muscles or your posture may have changed causing you to feel pain after birth.
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