How did you feel physically in the hours after giving birth?

[summerfruitsalad]

Apart from generally feeling awesome about having just had a baby and marvelling at your little bundle, how did you feel and what happened after you had given birth?

I ask because after a 6 hour labour with second deg tear, I was stitched up then told I could go for a shower. Fantastic I thought, I'm covered in god knows what, that would be lovely! I hobbled over (sore fanjo) to the shower room then had to immediately hobble back and sat on the bed and almost passed out. Told the mw's who sat with me, lay me back down and I think I felt really awful (don't remember clearly) they took my bp then gave me oxygen to help me. I don't know what my bp was but I think it was quite low. As far as I know my blood loss was normal too.

I couldn't stand for a long time, the lovely mw's helped strip wash me with wet wipes and soap then put on a nighty and headed to postnatal. It was a long time before I could stand long enough to have a shower and when I did go I used the chair they had in there to sit on for most of it, I just felt like I was going to pass out. I was strapped to the bloody monitor throughout labour as I had high bp and was on labetalol for it so don't know what the hell my bp was up to.

Is this normal post birth? Is there something they didn't tell me? Am expecting DC2 in January and I'm a bit nervous about how it will all go, the meptid spaced me out enough as it was! TIA!

As well as the responses you'll get here, I'd bring this up with you midwife and/or request a debrief from last birth. Am sure it's normal after all that physical effort though, but am not a HCP

sounds normal to me. i didnt have a shower til 24hours later with ds, i skipped the feeling awesome and marvelling too tbh, just sort of had flashbacks and felt like i'd been run over. maybe your BP was a bit low like you said. next time could be entirely different but after being threatened in labour that i'd be out the door hours post birth and not to think i was getting a holiday i actually discharged myself 2 days after still feeling battered.

Absolutely terrible after having DS but I lost three pints of blood and was then sewn up in theatre for a couple of hours with an epidural in place. Plus he was born at 2:50 in the morning and so not surprising I felt out of it. No way could I have had a shower.

With DD felt fine and did have a shower shortly after she was born. Had had full nights sleep the night before, labour only went on 6 hours from first twinge and no stitches. Plus felt mentally better as well.

You need to ask if you can go over your notes with someone - sounds like you had a very rough time.

With all of mine, while I was physically exhausted, I was also high as a kite - I remember wandering round the house in the early hours (so about 8 hours after DS2 was born, after a very long induction) looking for things to do. I was a bit manic. With both DS2 and DS3 I was home only 4 hours or so after birth - so definately up and about and functioning.

In a nutshell - like I'd run a marathon, twice. Like I'd passed a cannonball out of both orifices down below and then had someone place stinging nettles in my nether regions and so thirsty I could have drunk a lake. Oh yes, and light-headedness much like yourself due to low blood pressure.

After my DS1 I felt fine - not well, not terrible, but ok. I managed to have a shower without any help, I was very shocked at how my fanjo looked (like I had been attacked with a baseball bat!) but I felt ok. It was all fake natural high though, as very soon after I crashed and burned I felt very tired and wanted to sleep for days.

After my DS2 I was really very ok. My whole labour was only 45 min and after tea and toast I walked had a bath walked back and just wanted to go home asap.

I felt very similar after DC1 - went for a shower and nearly passed out and had to pull emergency cord. Was shocked at the state of downstairs and the amount of blood and felt pretty awful physically, although the euphoria carries you through.

After DC2, had a bath soon after (was at home) and honestly felt absolutely fine. Wasn't even that sore downstairs, didn't sting when I weed, couldn't believe how well and normal I felt.

Very shaky after DS1

Exhausted and wanting to sit down a lot with DD

Hardly noticed DS2

After DC1 - for days my ribs ached & I could barely turn over in bed it was so painful - I felt as though I'd been hit by a bus. I had an episiotomy so quite sore there too.

After DC2 - quite light-headed (pethidine), mild after-pains, nethers had torn so a bit sore but after a day, ok.

After DC3 - only one stitch, no pethidine & only one or two after pains. Felt back to normal very quickly. And sex after a week too.

It is reassuring to hear births with number 2 aren't so bad! First contraction was at 11.38pm, gave birth at 4.40am, pushing took nearly 2 hours cos DS's hand was infront of his face! I do remember feeling exhausted during the pushing and wailing, 'oh god not again' with every contraction, and 'is it nearly over' hahaha.

We got home at 9pm that day so was exhausted but much better and able to walk from hospital to car by that point, my bp had improved enough for them to allow me home, and hadn't gone too high.

I will chat with my midwife about it, I was happy with my care in delivery, understood I needed to have the monitor and when I felt wobbly the mw's were great. Maybe if I don't give birth overnight this time it will be much better! And tea and toast after labour was the best thing ever and I don't ever drink tea!

that sounds normal to me? its a lot for your body to go through, so i find it suprising myself when people say they were able to just stand up and go for a shower straight away. with my ds1 i was quite unwell after and was still having after effects of epidural and spinal block etc so couldnt get up to go and have a shower at all til that had all worn off, but ds2 birth was more like what you said and i thought ill go for a shower but when stood up just felt too dizzy and not strong enough, so had to wait. maybe its cos you lose a lot of blood aswel? even with a normal blood loss its a fair bit?
i would mention it to your midwife if your worried about it for ds2 but personally i would think dont expect too much of yourself, it should be normal to need rest after, its a big ordeal for your body and takes all your energy out of you

Tis normal for some - not a medical problem or anything, midwife might not know what you are talking about though. Me and a friend get it, only totally disappears after 4 - 6 weeks for us!!

That's a difficult one I think. With DS1 I had a longer labour, was generally tired anyway and then was confined to bed in the delivery room for a while as I had bled quite heavily after the birth. By the time they'd decided I was okay it was 1am, I couldn't have a shower as it was too late (had to sleep covered from waist to feet in dried blood - not very good) and felt fine by the morning. I didn't try and do anything directly post-birth so don't know how it would have affected me.

DS2 and DD were far quicker and I gave birth during the day so was up and in the shower within an hour or so of giving birth and I'd left to go home as soon as I could persuade them to discharge me. I was tired, but not exhausted, but then the births weren't particularly traumatic or difficult.

First birth - felt like a I had been hit by a truck and was in shock for days afterwards.

Second birth - felt like Super Woman. I honestly have never felt happier or better. I felt like I had been injected with a drug that made me feel invincible and I just wanted to smile and tell the world how much I loved it

With DD1 I walked to the shower after havibg 35 stitches and felt great until I saw the river of blood and the big tiled shower room looked like a scene from a slasher film. Within four hours tears would be in my eyes if I even moved in the bed let alone getting off and I spent the next two weeks sat on a rubber ring and walking like John Wayne.

With DD2 I felt fine and walked to the ambulance (home birth). I had to have my placenta removed so once the spinal wore off I was walking fine, carrying things and the day after I was cleaning.

Very, very different experiences.

Bloody knackered - 39 hour labour starting at 4am, and then ds had a trip to special care for a few hours before he was given back, so emotionally I'd been through the wringer as well.

But apart from SPD which took a couple weeks to go away, after the epidural wore off I felt OK with the odd shiver. I got incredibly fed up of people quizzing me about how my vagina felt given it was fine compared to my hips - and then got even more fed up of people admiring the stitching! Loads of MWs/docs/random tourists saying they'd never seen such neat work...

But I was in shock for a good 48 hours, I think. Second night on the ward was much better - ds and I hid out in the breastfeeding room practicing bf and watching Bollywood movies.

I was extremely tired from giving birth over night too (laboured from bedtime at 11.30pm to 8am), not at all hungry. It must have been at least at hour before I managed to go have a shower then come back and get sent off to the next ward.

I don't remember being quite that wobbly, but I did get wheelchaired with baby on my lap to postnatal, and had an epic nap.

i think it is different every birth iyswim. i have had 2 very different labours and births, and felt different (physically) after each, and I am not sure that any of it was really down to anything I did or didn't do.

i also think that one shaky birth does not necessarily beget another.

best of luck, be kind to yourself x

I have 4 dc, it was different after each of them.

I went into shock, then once that had passed I think reamined so shocked I couldn't really pay any attention to how I was feeling physically at all. Pretty exhausted but wired. Lost my appetite for a week but was able to stand, walk around, sit crossed legged etc almost immediately

I was mostly asleep so I don't remember much. I know I loved DD the minute I saw her. And I felt so proud of her as she was beautiful (I was seriously deluded here), and she never cried (she's made up for this since).

And I felt relieved that it was all over. And extremely thirsty. That is all.

I felt ok after all of them tbh.Totally high on adrenaline for a bit but ok. I was quite tired about 6 hours after dd3's birth but my blood loss was quite heavy with her. Immediately after the birth I felt good - v messy but good. It is however totally normal for you to feel very wobbly and to take a while to come round ok. It's a huge physical effort coupled with stress, excitement, lack of food, pain , sometimes vomiting etc. Feeling washed out is very much to be expected.

kkcmmv vmmmmm ,ccccccccccccccc

Dazed. Exhausted. Could barely sit up. Went for a shower at midwife's insistence ("Do I have to?" "Yes, you're covered in blood!" "Am I? Oh well." "No seriously, you have to get up anyway, we need to strip the bed." "Oh I don't mind, I'll just stay on these sheets" "You can't, it will make you sore.") and then had to pull the emergency cord as the force of the water was too overwhelming

Was moved onto the ward by wheelchair. I then realised my hair was ridiculously matted, my palms had nail marks in them, my throat was raw, my ears were ringing, my lower lip barely had any skin left on it from all the biting it I'd done. In photos my face is all puffy as well. Then DS and I slept for 8 hours!

I remember on the way home not being able to sit properly in the car either and having to sit half on my crossed leg.

I was really surprised by how physically worn out I felt, I don't know why, but I was expecting just to be perfectly fine and normal!

I didn't even get tea and toast either :(