How do you care for "downstairs" after birth?

[SweetSunflowerBoo]

Gave birth Wednesday 17th November 10:03 naturally with just gas and air. Was a very quick labour and only had a 2nd degree tear with 4 stitches.
But how do you care for your private area after birth? And stitches?

Been using peri bottle when I wee which helps.
Not really much pain but I'm wondering about keeping it clean and infection free and dry?

I had a shower Thursday morning in hospital before being sent home at 1am and just let the water run down me. But do I now need to clean the area better??? They didn't really give me any information in hospital at all.

Also really scared about when I have to poop- I've got a prescription to help but still

Thanks

Bath. I didn’t touch down there for ages. Then I moved to holding and dabbing a wet flannel. Then using the shower head to rinse it. No soap.

Hold it all when you pop. Pop a sanitary towel over your hand and cover your whole vulva with it. Push slightly upwards as you push the poo out. It just needs a bit of support!

Keep taking the lactulose (I presume that's what they've given you) - really helps.
Yes to the holding when you go as PP described
Shower is fine, not soap etc
If you can, after a shower, put a thick (dark) towel and lie down with your bottom naked for a while and let everything air dry for as long as poss. If you don't have time, a quick blast with a hair dryer on cold works well.
I had to sit on a pillow for a while, just for comfort.
Try and keep moving about regularly.

Have really regular baths, I had a couple a day, added a bit of sea salt to the water. I had a stack of dry flannels nearby to pop between my legs as I got out of the bath to stop blood running down my legs!

Use a jug of tepid water when seeing

Give the area a good air each day, lie on a thick dark towel on your bed for eg

Make sure you swap pads really regularly, even when blood flow slows.

For pooing, I used a dark flannel pushed against vulva and stitches to give support if bearing down, then baby wipes rather than loo roll.

It gets better pretty quickly!

Congratulations!! and I hope you aren't too sore. It's many years since I gave birth (I have 3 DCs and also needed stitches) but I was advised to have salt baths, using ordinary table salt. It certainly worked in that I healed quite quickly and didn't have any infections. I was also advised to hold a ST against my vulva when pooing which I seem to remember felt as if it was holding the stitches together.

Good luck.

I used expert midwife spritz for bits which I used every time I went to the toilet, it's soothing and nice. I had a first degree, so felt a little sore for a few days but it was ok.

Spritz for bits from Amazon is excellent. Spray onto pads for instant relief plus it helps stop infections. Smells lovely too. Stay well hydrated- helps with poos and wees!

Spritz for bits! Spray it onto your pad and it’s lovely and soothing. I was told not to have a bath with stitches but to just dab the area gently with water. Use water wipes for after the toilet rather than tissue paper and just rest rest rest!

I’m 9 weeks PP now and i think it started feeling much better after a week or so.

Twice daily Epsom salt baths
Pads soaked in witch hazel (alcohol free) - stick them in the fridge for an hour before
Regular pad changes
Pour water while passing urine
Sit on a donut pillow if you're really sore
Regular pain relief
Loose trousers and large cotton knickers

Thank you all

I've got a midwife coming over tomorrow to check on me as was supposed to be yesterday and they "forgot" about me and then today they said I "wasn't on the schedule for a visit" even tho they confirmed it with me yesterday. So I must have been forgotten again 🙄🙄

I’d recommend some pads made of natural fibres rather than normal ones - I seemed to have a chafing reaction once everything started healing up - horrific!

I didn't do anything different to normal to be honest, just made sure I used plenty of paper and dabbed carefully. Bath or shower as normal and try to eat sensibly/drink plenty to ensure your bladder and bowels are normal