night sweats after birth

[starstruck]

When my baby was first born I used to have really bad sweating at night - waking up to find myself drenched in sweat (sorry!) but this has now disappeared after a few months. Has anyone else had this after their baby was born and anyone know what might have caused it? Just wondered..

Hormones; they don't come by themselves, as most of us can testify!

Yes, and it's something to do with breastfeeding hormones. There was a previous thread about it here

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and here

Thanks ladies, that's really reassuring. I have been breastfeeding buthaving loads of probs - mastitus (sp?) etc so haven't really had time to think about this but at the back of my mind its been there and although sweats have now stopped I suddenly wondered whether I should worry.

The other reason I suddenly got paranoid was that the woman who collected the placenta or was it birth cord (you know since it is supposed to contain lots of good things - sorry, mummy brain) said that it had all tested normally but was I well in myself. I said yes, yes apart from b/f problems but it occurred to me afterwards that she asked whether I had had any night sweats and I said no since I don't now. I then started to wonder if night sweats were connected to anything more sinister...which is why I'm glad to hear that other new Mums have had them. Sorry for ramble.

I expect she was just probing to see if you had any infections (infection in uterus can occur after childbirth and would probably be accompanied by fever and night sweats, but you would also be feeling ill generally).

HTH.

Thanks. Reassuring to see it is so normal but why on earth don't they warn you about these sort of possible after effects of giving birth - as if we didn't have enough to worry about!

I had these after having the dd's.I was really worried that I'd come down with some sort of horrible germ.No one ever told me that they were normal.

I told my midwife about these high temperatures in the night, DS was about 5-7 days old, but she said it was simply "night sweats" which until then I had never heard of. Continued to feel run down, and have the "sweats" but put it down to tiredness after the birth. Eventually took temperature - over 100 degrees and GP diagnosed a womb infection. Was a bit miffed that midwife had just dismissed my worries, as her explanation also stopped me going to GP for 3 days as I thought it was normal and would just go away.

I thought these were one of the worst post-natal things (and I had a post-natal DVT so I had some pretty bad stuff!). I remember waking up with wrinkled fingers from lying in a pool of water all night . . . But at least someone had warned me or I'd read it, so I knew it was just one of those crap "ah yes, that's perfectly normal, didn't we tell you" things. Like dreaming about Vikings . . .

oh god, you've just reminded me about these - horrible and I am now 13 weeks preg with no. 2 - boo - still you do forget them after a while! I also used to get horrible pains in my tummy and round my back (think muscles contracting) which I hope I don't get again.

I wasn't "drenched" the way a few of you are talking about but I was sweating constantly. Horrible. And yes, why aren't we told all these things - so many things! - beforehand? I make it a point now to scare the sh*t out of pregnant acquaintances so that they can't turn around and say "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!"

Or maybe mothers don't tell people because we've blocked it all out of course! ...

lol Lizita!
Yes starstruck,I had this too. Never normally a sweaty person either.

Yeeeucch!

yes, yuk. Although I was desperate for visitors (a desperate attempt to keep my friends - and of course to show off dd) there were definite drawbacks!

Oh YES I did, and I hated it. Lasted for 6 weeks!!! Sobernow mentioned it being related to lots of fluid and that was definitely me (ankles totally disappeared, etc.) I was afraid the trauma of the birth had kicked me into early menopause

Oh yeh - you are right Jabberwocky, about ankles and swollen legs returning almost overnight back to normal size. Every cloud has a silver lining....

Yep - i've had excessive sweating, waking up with a drenched neck and hair. Had it a few times towards the end of my pregnancy too.

I'm still a sweaty betty during the day too (ds 6wks), which is driving me nuts. Black is my favourite colour to wear these days (not that anything fits anymore - i look like a sweaty bag lady...with a beautiful baby!)

Hormones, who'd have 'em ey?!