Things they're not telling you about vaginal birth..

[Viola82]

Just wondering what expecting mother should know about the natural birth and AFTER it please?
There is so much info about c-section and recovery after, but what about recovery after the natural birth? Even the vanilla standard one with no complications ect?
please don't sugercoat, write it as it is

That you won't be able to pee without it being agony for days weeks after unless you're squatting in a bath especially run for that purpose.

Maybe TMI but I remember my first poo afterwards was so bloody scary. In the end I had to hold a flannel over my bits to stop me from thinking my whole body would fall through it.

That you need to buy a gallon of witchhazel.

I could pee just fine. The first poo is scary though.

Piles. Lots of blood. Don't even think about having a look.

salt baths are your friend. your very best ever friend.

Also - no-one told me how much I would bleed once I was vertical. I buzzed the nurse with the red cord when I was in my post-birth shower as I thought I was haemorrhaging, but it was just normal bleeding.

With my little boy, I had to be syringed (my bladder was so full it was stopping my sons head from coming out so instead of catheter they syringed my bladder) and for a good 6 months, if I stood too long it would be really sore and throbbed down there so I always made sure to change position often. Obviously that doesn't happen to everyone. Walking after natural birth is so strange, you feel like everything's gunna fall out of you. If you have an episiotomy like me, the stitches probably won't bother you but it will be quite sore and painful especially if you walk a lot or don't rest. If you do tear or have to be cut, make sure you sit down slowly and carefully. All in all though, the recovery really wasn't that bad for me. I know some people have it so much worse, but sometimes it does genuinely just go relatively smoothly:) x

You might loose the sensation of needing to pee for a couple of days, so you have to remember to go try to a wee every few hours

Tena lady is your friend especially if you go back to sport and exercise.

Or have a cough

Or jump

I had to sit on ice packs for a good few weeks. Also the night sweats afterward were horrible.

It is SO painful to sit down after delivery. I had a spinal, forceps, episiotomy delivery (I don't consider it traumatic).
Shallow bath with lavender and milk every day to help healing.
Lots of painkillers.
As much water as you can manage to help that first poo be ok, mine wasn't bad at all tbh.
Weeing didn't string for me.
You need a lot of maternity pads
Don't look at your vag - let it recover before taking the mirror down there!

Peeing was fine but pooing was terrifying. It was like trying to shit razor blades the first time!

That you can be completely incontinent after - not able to feel you bladder at all - and it will get better pretty quickly and leave you with no lasting issues. At the time I thought I was destined to live in nappies at 27 :(
Definitely have fybogel in to soften the first poo.

I couldn’t pee at all. Had to be catheterised. Oh the relief when it started pouring out.

Your boobs will feel like painful rocks that leak when your milk comes in!
Night sweats... mixed with leaking milk

That you have to stand hovering over loo to pee and it pours away for first couple of weeks, literally no control. The good news is the control comes back in most cases. I remember the first time I was able to sit down to pee again and when I could actually control it; I was relieved

Best tip I have ever been given is have a jug of water when you go for a wee and pour it onto you while you go if you see what you mean? It dilutes your urine and means no sting or pain. Honestly amazingly effective.

The bleeding was pretty epic in the first couple of days afterwards. I naively bought a pack of Boots 'maternity' sanitary towels which were absolutely useless, no better than a towel for light periods in my opinion. It was mortifying when the cleaner came along to mop the floors in my corner of the ward- really didnt expect it to be like a horror film! Stock up on the extra thick Kotex pads that come in black wrapping (or at least they did 3 yrs ago), these were the only towels that stopped me ruining a lot of knickers and trousers- lifesavers! The bleeding wasn't so terrifying after the first 3 or so days, but was still at a very heavy period level of bleeding for 3/4 weeks after. Good times!

I'm sorry I don't recognise most of these problems and had 2 x VB with large babies and lots of stitches the first time round. Yes to more blood than I had expected, but you get that with CS too. Nether regions looked like a war zone but didn't feel that bad. Has anyone mentioned that huge surge of energy you get on day 2 ( that goes on day 3). If anyone rides a huge fat pony suggest invest in Tena first time out, that was the only thing that brought about incontinence to begin with, though it might have been fear after being out of the saddle for so long.

@WishITookLifeSeriously exactly what you said. After I had my first I was so terrified of going for a poo, I had to ask my mum to wait on the other side of the door just in case.

I think everyone should be prepared for having a wee and the agony that comes with it after having a tear. I cried every time I had to have a wee.

I didn’t have much bleeding and it didn’t hurt to sit down, pooing was fine, and my bits looked pretty normal.

Extra things to add to the general weirdness, an hour or two after birth I was bumbling around at home getting myself into some clothes for visitors and I realised when I sat down to put my trousers on my belly was actually laid on my thighs. That had never happened to me before. I kind of picked it up a bit and it flopped back down and I thought - crikey. It looked like a totally deflated balloon - it went down massively quickly but it took ages for the skin to catch up. Boobs like actual rocks. Piles.

I’ve never needed stitches after birth but here is a thing I never knew - you can tear upwards and you can tear your labia. So I was in the peeing is agony club!

It’s such a beautiful time

Only thing for pee was pee stinging, because I had stitches. But found if I sat in the loo then leant forwards with my hands touching the floor the pee ran the other way so no stinging!
It's like toilet yoga!

@Fattymcfaterson genius!

‘Maybe TMI but I remember my first poo afterwards was so bloody scary. In the end I had to hold a flannel over my bits to stop me from thinking my whole body would fall through it.’ I second that