Had DS3 9 days ago, not feeling well, texted mw but any advice in meantime? (Slight TMI alert)

[BoffinMum]

I had DS3 last Monday in a pool at home, and it was a pretty quick and easy birth, although the mw said I had a few grazes down below. I didn't need any stitches apparently.

The ladygarden area felt reasonably OK until about two days ago, when it started to become really quite sore, especially the wee hole bit. It really hurts if I spray it with the shower and it hurts to walk.

Also I feel a bit crap tbh, have got a temp of 99 degrees, and some intermittent pain around the bladder and groin area. I wondered if it was a UTI yesterday, but the mw tested me for that and said everything was fine on that front.

I am wondering what it might be and what to watch out for, while I wait for the mw (who hasn't rung back yet).

I would call the GP in the MW's absence, she may be off shift or away from her phone.

NHS direct is the obvious alternative of course I guess.

i would speak to GP or get someone to come and see you
pain, tenderness and fever often indicate an infection

Definitely give your GP a call. I think they'd want to check you over and nip any possible infection etc in the bud.

Hope you feel better soon

it does sound like a UTI, (I didn't know MW's carried tests for UTI's with them!) so I'd get a litre of cranberry juice into you for a start, but do get in touch with the GP or NHS direct, it might be nothing a few days on antibiotics won't fix, but if you leave it then it may turn into something more serious.

Do you really think it is that bad??
GP home visit service is totally rubbish around here these days but I suppose if you have just had a baby then they have to be nice and helpful.

Thanks for advice, everyone - I would have soldiered on stoically until tomorrow at 5 when I am seeing the mw again I think. I have drunk some cranberry juice and spoken to NHS Direct - they told me to ring the GP, and the surgery have said someone will ring me back after 3.30. I will post again with the outcome.

Good work - write down all of your symptoms and keep it by the phone. It's so easy to forget in the heat of the moment.

Stop press ... Have now spoken to GP and he reckoned it was a UTI, so I am on Cefalexin to be taken for two days longer than I feel symptoms for, i.e. probably 5 days. I happened to have a big stash of Cefalexin anyway as they prescribed me too many last time by accident, so it means I can get going on them straight away. GP says if they're the wrong ones I will know by Friday, and they can give me something else which would cover a potential uterine infection as well (but I have had one of those before and it felt different to this). So hopefully I am sorted now. Thanks again everyone for encouraging me to push for help as this was clearly the right thing to do.

It's very easy (and a typical "Mum" thing to do) to soldier on and ignore the possibility that we may need medical attention!! Sometimes we all need to be reminded that we should look after ourselves as well as our babies! Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks GreenMonkies, that was certainly what I was doing, but I think I could have ended up pretty ill without medical attention, because I think it was fairly galloping, so once again I am very grateful for all the good advice.

I have spent the late afternoon and early evening asleep and drunk a lot of cranberry juice along with the antibiotics, so hopefully I am on my way to a recovery now.

(I am jealous of your home-water-birth though, I couldn't fit a pool in my livingroom so had to have DD2 on dry land![rolls eyes and tuts])

That's a shame. They are a lot less painful than dry land births IMO. I can't imagine doing it any other way now!

LOL it didn't hurt and was quick and easy (on my knees leaning on my birthing ball) so it wasn't so bad, but I had fantasies about a water birth all the same!!

Ah, but GreenMonkies, I reckon I am more of a coward than you.

Interestingly DS3 had a knot in his umbilical cord and I ended up giving birth floating sort of on my back with the mw pushing my thighs down so he wasn't born half in air, half in water. This is not how I usually do it, so I wonder if a) my body was telling me I needed to be that way round to keep pressure off the cord, and b) only really possibly in water if I wanted to have a fully opened pelvic area with no pressure on the coccyx.

Undercarriage now ON FIRE when weeing, especially grazes. Wept while on loo and even while trying to hose area off with hand shower. Is the general view that I am on the right antibiotics for potential labia graze infection as well as UTI? I can't face two days of this while I find out.

It is not funny dealing with this and a baby that takes an hour to latch on every feed, I can tell you.

Poor you, I do sympathise. I had an infection after having dd - totally different from your situation, it was a infection in cs wound after emergency cs. I ended up back in hospital for 5 days on intravenous abs.

Sure that won't happen to you - but I remember how rotten I felt and then trying to look after dd on top of it all - especially when I would just have got dd and myself to sleep, only to be woken up by nurses for my next lot of abs.

Hope you get sorted out soon, can you get some other abs later today? Get to the doctor at all?

First thing is that you should not be having that much pain from labial graze. Ring the labour ward as they are responsible for you for either two weeks or one month after, can't remember.

Run a shallow bath with a few drops of tea tree or lavender and PEE IN THE BATH, it is soooo nice when you are in so much pain.

Good luck

Or forgot to say, just remembered that I used to take a jug of lukewarm water to the toilet with me and pour it over your fanjo as you wee, this works just as well.

oh congrats Boffinmum, and glad you had the waterbirth! fab news! well done!

Had HB with independent mw, so never went to labour ward. In fact apparently maternity hospital have lost my birth paperwork and rang my mw yesterday to inform her I was very overdue!!!

I tried weeing in the bath but that hurt almost as much, as did weeing with lukewarm hand shower on there. Mw came yesterday and has looked at it, but said everything looks normal to her. Mildly hopeful that urethra slightly less inflamed just now, but poor labia still raw. Temperature has been down though.

Have put Lansinoh on grazes in desparation, which seems to have eased it. Also I wonder if I was allergic to the bleached Mothercare maternity pads I used a few days ago - normally I use unbleached Natracare ones. That may have irritated things.

I am still tempted to go up to the hospital today anyway, and see an undercarriage expert, but I am wondering whether it is better to just turn up at the maternity hospital or go to A and E instead.

Good thought Mrs Pickles, I have just downed half a pint after your suggestion and will keep doing so despite my natural desire never to drink or wee again.

I am thinking of ringing the Delivery Unit for advice if people think that would be better than going down the GP route. I am loath to leave the house because I can't bear the thought of weeing without a hand shower available.

BM - Just a thought, if you are using medicine from before is it still in date? Hope you feel better very soon and cingratulations on the baby.

MuffinBaker, they are from mid Feb, so still OK. But good point.

MrsPickles, weeing is of normal frequency and duration.