What happens to your body after the birth?

[Neverknowing]

Hey guys, I wanted to start a really honest thread about what it's like after giving birth. There's so many things no one tells you about pregnancy which would have been helpful to know before hand (heartburn, skin tags etc) and I'm wondering what I've not been told about what it's like after ?!

[JohnLapsleyParlabane]

If you have a section you may experience very uncomfortable abdominal gas. I drank a lot of peppermint tea that first few weeks!

[Mishaps]

Your body is never quite the same again, but they are worth it.

[wobblywonderwoman]

I had two c sections and have a kind of hard lump where the scar is.

Your stomach deflates and feels saggy but doesn't go down for a few weeks fully.

Yep to wind pain after sections

And the aging process accelerates

[Gowgirl]

C section scar, plus piles never really went after number 3.

[tabulahrasa]

Your stomach feels like blancmange wrapped in cling film for ages after...ok, maybe a couple of weeks, but it felt like ages. It wasn't so much that it affected anything, just that it might have been nice to know that, lol.

Um...handy?

Oh clots, they tell you to tell them if you get any blood clots so often that you panic if you get one...and then it's just a case of, OK, we'll keep an eye out, I assumed it was more serious than that.

Breastfeeding hurts even if you and baby are doing it right, for a while anyway.

It can't be that bad, they're the main things I remember - though it was a long time ago.

[lcoc2015]

Sneezing involves weeing on yourself about 50% of the time!

[tabulahrasa]

Oh, yes, it doesn't matter how well you think you've done your pelvic floor muscles and how well they usually work, bouncy castles are challenging even 16 years later.

[3luckystars]

I was shaking for a good 2 hours after having my last baby. I think my body went into shock.

My body changed a lot but I wasn't exactly Cindy Crawford beforehand, so it was totally worth it!

[TallulahBetty]

First poo after is scary!

[CatsCantFlyFast]

You'll still look pregnant for a while and yes, you're permanently a different shape. Your hair might fall out (mine starts from about 6 weeks pp) and my skin goes all awful too. The raging hormones in the first week post birth can make for some scary lows (and highs). You should plan for the first poo being a bit uncomfortable - even with a section - I highly recommend lactulose and fibrogel daily after birth to avoid any issues - especially as constipation is common if you're breastfeeding (and labour or a section can both make your bowels really sluggish which is the last thing you want). Your bleeding mightn't be worse than a period but it might be significantly heavier - you can always wear multiple mat pads at once. Tea tree oil in a bath can help with stitches and sore bits, or a mat pad over your section scar can stop clothes rubbing. Big big pants are the best, both post labour and section.

^^ sounds daunting but I always feel significantly better after giving birth than when heavily pregnant AND you can sleep on your front!

[LaPharisienne]

Immediately after I felt a bit beaten up, still pretty fat and TERRIFIED about the state of my undercarriage (VB with episiotomy).

But I didn't need to worry! IME it goes back to much the same as it was before - weight drops off, stomach goes back to normal, stretch marks fade to invisible quite quickly.

Only permanent change for me is a scar from the episiotomy (feels like a little ridge) and massive norks (still breastfeeding).

Good luck! Are you pregnant?

[Neverknowing]

Ooh thanks for the tip about the peppermint tea I'll be sure to stock up! The stomach thing is important too, I didn't expect to snap back into shape straight away but I've always had a fairly flat stomach and am looking forward to feeling myself again, and also to not have heartburn!!!

[thatsn0tmyname]

You sweat buckets in the first 24 hours.
You look 7 months pregnant days after giving birth.
Pigmentation around my undercarriage has never really gone away.
I've had a c section first time and an episiotomy second time. Both were equally sore and debilitating.
I have two sets of stitch marks (faint) but no stretch marks.
I cannot get on with tampons now.
Sorry, sounds depressing but you just get on with it.

[LetsJunglyJumpToIt]

Immediately after the birth I was so numb I couldn't go for a wee.

[LaPharisienne]

For balance, breastfeeding didn't ever hurt for me. My skin and hair are much better than before I got pregnant and I have gone back to being exactly the same shape I was before, excepting the massive knockers!

I may well be lucky but I'm sure I'm not the only one!

[Heratnumber7]

You bleed for weeks.

Some times your nipples bleed while you're feeding the baby, so that if they sick up milk it comes up pink. (That's why I stopped breast feeding)

Every item of clothing you own will have baby sick on it somewhere, because you are so tired, you just rub it in instead of washing the clothes.

Your belly button never really goes back to its original shape.

[panad317]

4 weeks since having DC2 here.
The afterpains which only lasted 3 days for me
The extremely heavy bleeding for the first few days
The gigantic boobs on days 3-5
Your body wont survive without chocolate every day maybe that's just me

[LaPharisienne]

I had a flat stomach before and four months pp have a flat stomach again (in a certain light you can see 1/2 faint marks that were stretch marks but ).

To cheer you up I also know quite a few people who didn't get any stretch marks at all, so they're not a given.

[Neverknowing]

Haha Tabulah that's so funny!
I sort o wanted to start this thread so I feel a bit more prepared for the 'horrible' bits after birth so be as real as you like it helps to know that you're 'normal' when you start to feel like your body has been taken over by an alien

[Onedaftmonkey]

The tiredness. I fell asleep BF my ds the midwife had to separate us. I didn't wake up and when I did i freaked out that he wasn't on me.
Also the breast milk squirting all over the bathroom as I showered. What a bloody waste.

[Neverknowing]

I'll take a few stretch marks in exchange for my healthy baby

[TheMasterMurderedMargarita]

For me not as bad as I anticipated.

Everything downstairs feels a bit weird for some time after. When you wee you aren't quite sure if you've finished or not. It gets better.

Stitches were not as bad as I thought. Neither was going to the loo afterwards.

Bleeding didn't last as long as I thought-mostly done in 1 week then spotting for a further 2.

Tummy feels very squishy.

Boobs get crazy big when the milk comes in then settle down.breastfeeding will hurt but improves with time.

I thought I smelt a bit funny- between milk and bleeding - it was probably the thing that bothered me most.

You might be ravenously hungry.

You may randomly cry.

You will be tired.

[Neverknowing]

It's only been 5 weeks Drwhy I'm sure you'll get back being a toned as you were, well done for doing on a run so soon as well I doubt I'll have the motivation

[melibu84]

My belly was still huge but also soft and spongy. It was weird lol.

My belly button still hasn't gone in properly after 4 months

I fart way more easily than I used to lol


Just a little tip, if you end up with stitches, lean over when you pee as it reduces the chance of it making contact with the stitches, and stinging.