What happens after birth??

[Hannabee123]

Hi everyone

1st pregnancy and no one seems to be answering my many questions What happens after the baby comes out!? Do you bleed for a while how long does it take to get settled (assuming the birth is natural with no complications)
Everyone's happy talking about pregnancy and birth but I want to know what happens afterwards as I'm sure everything isn't just perfect down there
Quite nervous

Yes you bleed, it varies massively between person and depends on your birth but it's normal to bleed for around 4 weeks after birth
No things won't be perfect, you'll be sore, you may have stitches and you may look quite different
Not sure what you mean by 'get settled' after birth though

Hi! I have a nearly 9 month old LB. After labour you pass the placenta - they'll give you an injection in your thigh if you consent to it. This speeds up the process of passing it - unfortunately for me it didn't work and I ended up in theatre (I had a rubbish labour but would do it all again). You'll have any stitches you may need. To be honest you probably won't notice this as you'll be cuddling your new baby 😊 the midwife will check the baby over, weigh them, put identity tags on their little ankles and help you dress them once you've had skin to skin.

When I went home I did bleed for about 4-5 weeks. I recommend stocking up on maternity pads and take some big Primark knickers into the hospital.

Good luck - enjoy the run-up. It's so exciting. Xx

Hi, do you mean for a while in the hospital or when you get home and life goes on? I bled for about three weeks maybe, light enough to stop using the god awful maternity pads after about three or four days. To be honest I'd recommend not using maternity pads anyway, they're horrific and just add to the uncomfortableness you'll feel down there!!

Oh and you'll be tender down below for a few weeks too, especially if you have stitches. I had an episiotomy so had to sit on a rubber ring 😂

So, following a normal vaginal delivery, you usually end up back in the chair thing to deliver the placenta (if you get the injection this will take place sooner rather than later), ensure bleeding has stopped and after that for the midwife to get to the business of sewing tears or episiotomies. Gas and air helps with that but usually baby is in your arms or DPs arms so quite a good distraction as it can really hurt. This stage seems to take a long time as they sort you out and sort out notes etc.

Then usually you get some time to rest, continue breastfeeding attempts etc before they suggest a shower which is really only advisable when you have your legs working properly again. They are very wibbley for a few hrs after birth in my experience.

There can be a lot of blood in the shower as you are usually standing and moving for the first time and also have plenty to wash off. But it should subside to like a period where you have time to get pants and pad on before wreaking totally your towel. Then back to bed with baby for more skin to skin and feeding etc.

The bleeding can last like a drawn out period for 6 weeks but only the first few days is heavy in my experience. You will be seen by HV very soon after discharge and they will check with you all is well but I think you'll know if something isn't right. Basically expect a period with some clots. On my second it was a fast and furious delivery and I had massive fist sized clots directly after birth and a few at home the following day or so, freaked me out a bit but HV was happy once it decreased in occurance rapidly.

You're right, nobody tells you this stuff! Hope that helps! There may be some difference in the immediately post delivery bit depending on your delivery, epidural etc.

You will feel like your bottom has fallen off for a bit and pelvic floor takes a while to recover, I felt like wee just fell out once i had sat on the loo! I had stitches but they never really bothered me. Felt battered and bruised for a few days but compared to the uncomfortableness (is that a word?) of late pregnancy it was fine and I was all consumed by the new baby. I bled for about 2 weeks, the first few days very heavily, i wore 2 maternity pads on top of each other. Def start with mat pat pads over sanitary towels as they are softer and don't catch your stitches.Hold a pad over your stitches when you have your first poo....eat lots of fruit and veg to make it easier!

Oh and take dark colours towels in with you so you don't wreck light ones with blood stains after showering. I had dark purple ones!

No-one told me about it either. It's not pleasant. Take a boppy into hospital and you can sit on it after you give birth if you are a bit sore.

Also take cotton wool to dab yourself with after you go for a pee. And a bottle/plastic jug to pour over yourself while you are going o the toilet - takes the edge off.

It really depends how the birth goes. I had an emergency c-section and I won't go into the ins and outs of c-section recovery as hopefully you won't need it, unless you want to know. It wasn't very fun, but then again I'm pregnant with my second and scheduled for another section, and not dreading it too much!

Saying that, you'll probably bleed for a while regardless of how you give birth. I bled for about 5 weeks. I only needed massive maternity pads for about the first 2 or 3 weeks though, then I switched to normal pads. Dark towels are definitely a good idea! Have some breast pads handy too. Even if you don't breastfeed, you might still leak for a while. Be prepared for your boobs to suddenly engorge a few days after delivery when your milk comes in. It was a bit of a shock to me just how big they suddenly got!

Whatever happens, assuming you're home within a few days, midwives or HVs will continue to visit you at home at first. If all is fine, you'll be discharged within a couple of weeks.

Before you leave hospital, make sure you've been given a list of all the useful contact numbers you might need - midwives, HVs, breastfeeding help (if you want that), GP, registration office (baby must be registered within 6 weeks of birth, you'll probably need to book it), child benefit application forms. Assume your brain will be mush for a while - sleep deprivation does that.

Good luck, I muddled through somehow, and so will you.

As others have said, there will be some bleeding for a few weeks after birth. I really recommend buying black pjs!

The doctor shoved a finger up my bum to check everything was ok, I wasn't expecting that. I thought I'd leave hospital with a baby and my anal virginity, turns out it was just a baby.

Thank you all so much for being honest! I've not got many friends who have had children because most are just wrapping up university (I'm 22). My mother doesn't remember too much about it but tries to reassure me.
Whenever I ask anyone, they all seem reluctant to tell you this... Maybe because they think it will worry me?
I would prefer to know though so I can prepare and just generally know what to expect! Everyone focuses so much on the main 9 months that by the time the baby is out you have no idea what your body is going to do!
Does it hurt alot?

How much it hurts depends on a thousand factors. For me it didn't hurt as much as I expected and never felt unmanageable.

I had an episiotomy and forceps delivery. so am still a little bit tender (ten weeks on) but actual pain lasted about 6 weeks. I also bled for 4 weeks. Had baby blues on days 2-3 but soon passed. Took about two weeks for motherhood to feel "normal" and get into a routine ( for me not just the baby!)

I was mainly very achy afterwards all over my body. Like I'd done a massive workout session. Fortunately my stomach shrunk back pretty much straightaway which I was suprised about.
I took paracetamol afterwards as I was sore downstairs.
The first poo is scary! Try and relax with it.
The main problem was just wanting a nice long sleep but having to look after a newborn

If possible i'd recommend lining up a few volunteers to take baby for a walk whilst you rest. Oh and lots of nipple cream if you're planning on breastfeeding.

Best tip I had was to lean forward as far as you can when you wee as it will help the wee to bypass your sore bits. Also hold a pad or wodge of loo roll on your fango when having a poo to support everything. Oh the glamour!

It felt very weird straight after birth. All sort of swollen and strange. If you have any stitches at first they don't feel too bad but by day 5 I was in agony - warm baths with lavender oil were a life saver! When I finally got brave enough to have a look - about 6 days in, it all looked relatively normal to be honest.

I bled for 6 weeks! Felt like forever. Also if you breastfeed your uterus contracts which means you can get times where you can bleed more. My bleeding also stopped and started again a couple of times, which was strange.

The first few days for me passed in a blur of pain, hormones and sleeplessness. I didn't really get the newborn glow at first as everything was so challenging.

I don't think anyone will say it doesn't hurt quite a lot... but there's an awful lot that have a second child or more.

I had a section as my baby was found to be breech, but at a very late stage. I was in the very early stages of labour, got to about 3/4 cm. In terms of pain I'd compare it at that point to the nasty tummy cramps you get when you have D&V, so yes it's uncomfortable and painful but each one only lasted a minute or so than I had a 15 or 20 minute break with nothing. Afterwards I took paracetamol & ibruprofen for a week but wasn't in pain, because they were sufficient. I felt exhausted, but fine otherwise - a bit like getting over flu.

I'm expecting my first in October and this thread is very useful so thank you for all the replies (and thank you OP for asking!!!) - good to know what to expect!

Such a good post - can anyone advise re: feeding?
Hoping to breastfeed...

• What if this doesn't work?
• Is the milk in by then?
• How quick does the baby need feeding?
• Should we take emergency milk or will hospital supply?

(Sorry to gate crash) x

Such a good question to ask - you're right, no one talks about it and it comes as a bit of a shock as a result! Like others say it very much depends on the type of birth you had but things to be aware of:

• The best piece of advice anyone ever gave me is that it takes 9 months to make a baby, 9 months to recover fully - be kind to yourself!
• First thing after birth is cuddle baby, then delivery of placenta and then stitches if needed. I was surprised by the volume of blood on the floor and how utterly exhausted I was (like I'd done several rounds boxing!) - it's blurry.
• You will spend some time with your baby, they will do some checks. In our case DD was poorly and had to go to neonatal. I found this a little bit emotional (it's strange to have a baby and then have them disappear againrather than laying on your chest like you expect). Please don't be afraid of this though, they really are very careful to look after you and baby.
• If you are wanting to try breastfeeding they will help you to try this (usually pretty much immediately), it can be v. straightforward, or v. complicated - depends on circumstances! Even if horribly difficult to begin with don't despair, it might still work out (it did for us in spite of a disastrous start)
• hormones will have your emotions up and down all over the place for a couple of weeks, expect tears/feeling vulnerable, it's normal and perfectly ok.
• You may experience contractions after birth as your uterus shrinks (don't worry, not labour-like!). Depending on baby's position you may also have things like back ache to contend with.
• If you have stitches ice helps pain relief, and i've heard tucks witch hazel pads are good. They will want you to go for a wee within 24 hours to reduce risk of cystitis. The first poo afterwards puts fear into anyone who's just had a baby, invest in a small step stool, and relax, it's not as bad as you worry it will be! If you have stitches you may need to rinse after going for a wee, you can buy small peri bottles to help with this.
• Your anatomy may have...changed... I naively did not expect to look or feel different and was upset when I did. I felt much better when a midwife explained what was done a few weeks later, and encouraged me that it would begin to feel normal/be proud of my body etc etc.
• You will have a 6 week check, I found this very cursory. You may bleed up until then, I think it's usually about 4 weeks. You might also feel weak for some time after (for months and months I found walking long distances very tiring, my stomach muscles were weak and had separated a little, they will give you exercises to help the muscles knit back together - don't do sit-ups or anything like that).
• You might experience pain afterwards during sex, or weakness of your pelvic floor. I am really lucky and where I live postnatal physiotherapy is standard. For me this was transformative, helping me to strengthen pelvic floor and reduce anxiety (I was scared it would hurt forever!). If you have issues afterwards, please do just ask for help, it's just not necessary to suffer incontinence or pain.

Phew that was very long - sorry!

It doesn't matter how good your pelvic floor is before and after - that first wee is unstoppable once it starts. Literally. Like a horse's as well. It doesn't stay that way!

If you're lucky and with one of the hospitals who still allow toasters on the wards, you will get the best tea and toast of your life when you're recovering.

I had stitches for a second degree tear and felt sore/strange down there until 9weeks PP. It varies from person to person so don't worry if you don't feel like you are healing as quick as you should!

Like you, I was clueless as to how I would feel after the birth. My anxiety was sky high. I also didn't realise how awful the milk sweats would make me feel, I thought it was a fever so I was back on the postnatal ward a week or 2 after the birth with a suspected womb infection (all was fine and a miscommunication, I wish someone would have told me about the milk sweats).

eggsbenedict89 if possible you should try feeding straightaway after birth and then on demand after that, which can seem like all the time. In general every 1-3 hours round the clock. Your nipples will get very sore which is why I recommend cream straightaway.
The first few days before your milk comes in are really tiring. Both my babies wanted to be held all the time as well.
It gets easier after that. I introduced a night bottle quite early with first and after a month with the second.
Mix feeding is really good once you've got your milk established.

I felt quite bruised, like someone had kicked me down there, and it felt tender like that for around a week. I had a fairly straightforward birth with only a small tear. I bled heavily for the first week then by week two I was using normal sanitary towels. I did have a small pile or polyp which caused bleeding everytime I went for a number two up to around six weeks aftwr, otherwise I was out and about within a week. I spent the first night in hospital and remember being absolutely exhausted and desperately trying to stay awake when breastfeeding. I was also absolutely famished in the middle of the night and was grateful for the snacks I had in my hospital bag. Hope that helps